Henry Cavill’s Highlander remake casts its secondary villain with an Oscar-winner who, like Cavill, has appeared in the DCU.
Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery starred in the original Highlander way back in 1986. The action-packed tale of immortal beings locked in eternal combat spawned a franchise that included four sequels, one TV movie, two live-action series and an animated series.
Though the original film and its increasingly-silly sequels are firmly in the cult classic category, Highlander has been deemed valuable enough IP to warrant a remake, with Man of Steel’s Cavill playing the role originated nearly 40 years ago by Lambert. Dave Bautista has been cast as the main villain Kurgan, who was played by Clancy Brown in the original.
The already-stacked cast of Highlander reportedly just added yet another important piece, snagging Oscar-winner and former DCU star Jeremy Irons as the leader of The Watchers, a secret order tasked with keeping an eye on Cavill and his fellow immortals (via THR).
What Irons’ Casting Means For Highlander
Highlander’s cast continues adding more serious acting talent, as Irons joins the aforementioned Cavill and Bautista, alongside fellow Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, the twice-nominated Djimon Hounsou, Marisa Abela, and Karen Gillan.
Irons’ addition makes for a DCU reunion between the man who played Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred and the man who played Superman. There’s also an MCU reunion, between Drax actor Bautista and Nebula actor Gillan. Just for good measure, Highlander also reunites Gladiator stars Crowe and Hounsou.
It should be a very friendly shoot for all these actors as they get re-acquainted with their former co-stars. Unfortunately, work on Highlander is delayed until early 2026 as Cavill recovers from an injury he suffered while sword training for the film.
The injured Cavill previously commented on his excitement over Highlander, and the chance to work with John Wick director Chad Stahelski (via THR):
Highlander! That is taking all of my focus. It’s a project that I’m extremely excited about. This character is going to be a lot of fun to play, and I’m loving working with Chad Stahelski. He is a very talented man.
Cavill’s excitement may increase now that his one-time DCU co-star Irons is on-board, lending his Oscar-winning gravitas to a role that sounds very mysterious indeed. Hopefully, that enthusiasm will be channeled in a safe and appropriate way, and not into more sword-training mishaps.
Our Take On Irons’ Highlander Casting
You can never have too many Oscar-winning actors in your cast, and Highlander now has two in Irons and Crowe, with Hounsou boasting a pair of nominations but no wins. The news of Irons’ casting only adds to the intrigue surrounding the remake, as it seeks to redeem the Highlander franchise after a series of very bad sequels.
Highlander does not yet have a release date, but its release window is thought to be 2027-2028.
- Created by
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Gregory Widen
- First TV Show
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Highlander: The Series
- Movie(s)
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Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, Highlander III: The Sorcerer, Highlander: Endgame, Highlander: The Source, Highlander (Reboot)
Highlander is a multimedia franchise consisting of multiple movies, TV shows, and books. The franchise was created by Gregory Widen, with the first film releasing in 1986. Christopher Lambert starred in the first four movies as Connor MacLeod and was replaced by Henry Cavill for the franchise’s reboot.