A Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill is still in the works and could be the start of a major franchise, according to its director.

Beginning in 1986 with a fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert, the Highlander franchise spread through the late 20th century and into the 21st. It spawned, among other things, four films, two live-action television series and a series of original novels.

A remake of the original film has been in the works since 2008, with John Wick director Chad Stalheski joined the team in 2016. Reports claimed in 2021 that Cavill was in talks to direct the series, although few updates have been shared since.

However, in a new interview, Stalheski said that the new Highlander The movie was going to happen and could mean big things for Cavill after his departure from The Witcher.

Asked about the Happy Sad Confused podcast if Cavill was still attached or if they were “far down the road,” Stalheski told host Josh Horowitz: “I think we have some really good pieces now. The problem is that when you have the slogan, “There can only be one,” you simply can’t kill everyone on the first try.

“I’ll say it for you first, our story involves a lot of the same characters and stuff like that, but we also brought in elements from all the TV shows, and we’re trying to do a bit of a prequel, a staging of “The Gathering” [a 1992 episode of the series]so we have room to expand the property.

Stalheski compared it to John Wick, which he said he never intended to turn into a franchise and would only continue with a strong enough idea.

“Highlander, I can tell you right now…if we get our act together and make the feature film successful, we’ll have ideas for days on how to create the coolest characters and make it into a TV show epic.

“I just think it’s a rich, rich, rich, rich mythology. When you can pick any time period, any nationality, any culture, any type of person and make them an immortal, then have to duel and face the burden of immortality , it’s really cool for me.

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Stalhelski added that it was a “creative burden,” saying, “I don’t want to be the guy who fucks everything up. »

Last year, Cavill announced he was stepping down from his starring role in another fantasy franchise: Netflix’s. The Witcher.

Cavill starred as demon hunter Geralt of Rivia in the popular series, based on the popular video game of the same name. However, he left the show after three seasons and will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in the future.

Speaking earlier this month, The Witcher director Marc Jobst suggested that the ‘demanding’ nature of filming the series may have contributed to Cavill’s departure.

“Look, Henry has directed three series, they’re demanding series to direct, you know, they’re huge,” he said. “Henry does every beat of his stunts, he doesn’t even allow a hand, if you do a close-up of a hand gripping a sword it must be his hand.

“It’s exhausting for your number one, so after three series I think, OK, he’s birthed the series, and if he feels like he’s done what he can, I trust him .”