Highlander Remake Just Landed Four New Stars — Production Kicks Off Early 2026
Highlander sharpens its reboot with four new cast members, with cameras set to roll in early 2026 once Henry Cavill is back in fighting form.
I keep saying this Highlander reboot is quietly turning into a real one, and the cast list just backed me up again. Four more actors signed on, and there are some interesting character details buried in there.
Who is swinging swords this time
- Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod, the Medieval Scottish Highlander who figures out he is immortal and ends up fighting his own kind across centuries
- Russell Crowe as Ramirez, the veteran swordsman who trains MacLeod
- Karen Gillan as MacLeod's Scottish wife
- Marisa Abela as his present-day love interest
- Djimon Hounsou as an immortal warrior from Africa
- Jeremy Irons as the head of The Watchers, a secret society that keeps tabs on immortals and considers them a risk to humanity
- Max Zhang (Master Z: Ip Man Legacy) in a role they are keeping quiet
- WWE champion Drew McIntyre as Angus MacLeod, Connor's brother
- New additions: Kevin McKidd (role not revealed), Siobhan Cullen as a police psychiatrist who uncovers the truth about immortals and wants to help MacLeod, Jun Jong-seo as a member of The Watchers, and Nassim Lyes as an immortal hunting MacLeod
Yes, that is a lot of capital-I Immortals. If McKidd turns out to be an immortal Roman legionary, I won't complain.
Timeline and locations
Production was supposed to get going in the fall, but Cavill was hurt while training, which pushed everything back. The plan now is to pick it up in early 2026. When cameras do roll, they are heading to Scotland, England, and Hong Kong.
The action pitch
Here is the eyebrow-raiser: Dave Bautista is the one hyping the action right now, even though he is not on that cast list. He is promising something on the same level as Keanu's gun-fu playground:
"The action is on par with John Wick."
He also says this reboot nods to the original while expanding the world and keeping the story fresh. Big words, but the director here is Chad Stahelski, so the 'John Wick but with broadswords' promise does track.
So... do we need a new Highlander?
Do we ever "need" a remake? Almost never. But this one has clear franchise ambitions, and if Stahelski gets to build the mythology cleanly from the start, that alone could justify the attempt. Plus, Cavill tends to throw himself into passion projects, and he could use a new flagship now that Superman and The Witcher are in the rearview.
Bottom line: the casting keeps getting better, the world-building pitch sounds big, and if the action really hits John Wick caliber, there might finally be more than one good Highlander. Sorry, I had to.