Director Chad Stahelski has made a name for himself with the ‘John Wick’ films and has penned an entirely new chapter in movies with a focus on gunplay but now wants to take sword fighting to another level with his ‘Highlander‘ reboot. While he has clearly been busy flexing Keanu Reeves’ action skills, that hasn’t been what has held the production of the film back. Stahelski doesn’t want to start really working on the movie before it is ready and “f— it up” so that there isn’t more story to tell.
According to the director:
“Highlander is such a massive property. Luckily, the studio (Lionsgate) is really behind me in this. I truly believe this is one of those properties that could actually sustain a good universe, meaning a TV show or something. And to go out there, and just haphazardly throw together what we think would be a quick sword fighting-immortal movie, I think would be a mistake. And honestly, the people behind this, the studio behind this, they’re dying for this to go. If anything, I’m the one holding it back, and trying to creatively lay out everything. We just don’t want to paint ourselves into a corner creatively, like happened with the original.
We’re trying to really lay out this universe and not f— it up to the point where you cannot continue this story. We love it so much, we’re trying to treat it with a lot of care.”
While there were aspects to ‘Highlander II: The Quickening’ that fans liked, most can agree that Christopher Lambert’s being an alien really was a disservice to the franchise moving forward.
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As Lambert isn’t actually immortal and another actor will have to fill the kilt of the legendary immortal Scottish warrior, you have to wonder if Stahelski has anyone in mind for the part. His response is perfect sharing, “I have my wish list, yeah” where he, of course, wouldn’t go into who was in that list.
Keanu Reeves did end up using a sword in ’47 Ronin’ and is known for working to understand his material for a role so it could be feasible that the two would work together again! Unlikely, but anything is possible.
Are you looking forward to a reboot of the ‘Highlander’ franchise or wish Hollywood would come up with some original material? Is Chad Stahelski being involved as the director and wanting to really plot out the film for potential sequels sound like a reassuring plan? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly