First look at Henry Cavill as the Immortal Scottish Warrior in ‘Highlander’ Reboot

Henry Cavill’s First Look at Chad Stahelski’s ‘Highlander’ Reboot

Filming for the long-awaited reboot of the 1986 classic Highlander, starring Henry Cavill, is officially underway in London, England.

The story follows Connor MacLeod, a 16th-century Scottish warrior who must fight other immortals through the centuries until only one remains to claim a mysterious “Prize.”

This all-new take, directed by Chad Stahelski, best known for his renowned work on John Wick, The Matrix, The Crow, and the Hunger Games series, looks to bring Highlander back in a big way, mixing a modern action film style and focusing on intricate, grounded swordplay choreography.

Early Wednesday, Cavill took to Instagram to share the first official “First Look” of himself as the immortal Connor MacLeod. The actor wrote, “Happy First Look for Highlander! This has been quite the journey for me, which I’ll tell you all about when the time is right, but it’s a special moment to be able to share this. I hope you enjoy.”

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The message hints at a long and challenging road to get the movie off the ground after facing various stages of development hell throughout the years, with previous attempts failing to materialize, along with the actor himself suffering an injury during the preparation for the role.

While the first-look images don’t give away much about the story, they do bring back that 1986 Highlander film vibe that embodied a more moody, melancholic, gritty, and stylish take, heavily defined by the rock group “Queen” and its musical aesthetics. The Russell Mulcahy-directed film originally failed miserably at the box office but was resurrected through the magic of the long-forgotten VHS and Beta format releases at local video rental stores in the late 1980s.

Actor Christopher Lambert, one of my personal favorite actors, originally starred as MacLeod, the weary, centuries-old warrior who navigated the modern world while battling with a sword in dark, neon-lit urban settings.

While a lot of moviegoers don’t care much when Hollywood remakes or reboots classic movies, there’s still a ton of excitement for this one because of the talent that’s involved.

Written by Michael Finch, the film stars Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Dave Bautista, along with Marisa Abela and Max Zhang.

Before I go, Director Chad Stahelski has said that his Highlander reboot will feature the music from “Queen,” mentioned previously above, honoring the original’s iconic soundtrack. While incorporating classic tracks, Stahelski indicated they will be used in a “different way” than expected, aiming to blend the original’s spirit with new, grounded world-building.

You can watch the official ‘Princes of the Universe’ music video via YouTube. Taken from Queen – ‘Greatest Video Hits 2’. The late Freddie Mercury really knocks it out of the park in this hit single.

The Stahelski-led film is eyeing a 2027 or 2028 theatrical release window, though this has not been officially set by Amazon/MGM.

“There can be only one” is a famous phrase from the 1986 Highlander movie.