Money Heist: Korea Breakout Jeon Jong-seo Joins Henry Cavill’s Highlander — Who Is the Rising Star?
South Korean star Jeon Jong-Seo has joined Chad Stahelski’s Highlander reboot as a Watcher, teaming with leads Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in the action-fantasy epic, her agency ANDMARQ confirmed November 5.
Highlander just added another blade to its rack: Jeon Jong-seo is in. Her agency ANDMARQ confirmed the casting on November 5, and she is playing a Watcher — one of the mortals who secretly keep tabs on the immortal sword-slingers. That puts her alongside Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in director Chad Stahelski's reboot, which finally looks ready to move again after a delay.
Jeon Jong-seo: the quick version if you somehow missed her
Jeon broke out hard in 2018 with Lee Chang-dong's Burning, landing the part days after signing with her agency. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and made the Academy's shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Oscars — the kind of one-two that pegs you as a serious actor fast.
She then won Best Actress at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards for the time-twisty thriller The Call (2020), directed by her partner Lee Chung-hyun. Global audiences really clocked her as Tokyo in Money Heist: Korea (2022) on Netflix. Since then: the gnarly 2022 miniseries Bargain (which scored Best Screenplay at Canneseries), the 2024 tvN rom-com Wedding Impossible, and Project Y, a crime drama that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025. On the film side, she made her Hollywood debut with Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2021) and headlined the 2023 action flick Ballerina.
Where she fits in Highlander
Jeon is playing a Watcher — in the lore, they are human archivists who observe immortals and record their battles without interfering. Jeremy Irons is the big boss of that shadowy outfit here, so expect her to be in his orbit.
Who is playing who
- Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod, our immortal lead who can only die by beheading
- Russell Crowe as Ramirez, the mentor role originally played by Sean Connery
- Dave Bautista as The Kurgan, the main villain
- Karen Gillan as Heather MacLeod
- Jeremy Irons as the head of the Watchers
- Jeon Jong-seo as a Watcher
- Djimon Hounsou, Marisa Abela, Drew McIntyre, Kevin McKidd, Siobhan Cullen, and Nassim Lyes in supporting roles
Behind the camera and what this version is doing
Chad Stahelski (John Wick franchise) is directing from a script by Michael Finch. Scott Stuber and Neal H. Moritz are producing for Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists. The story jumps between present-day New York and Hong Kong while weaving in the past, and the production is also heading to Scotland — because of course it is, it is Highlander.
Schedule, delays, and the current plan
The film was supposed to shoot in fall 2025, but Cavill injured his leg during training in September, which pushed everything back. He posted an update in early October showing he was on the mend, and the new plan is to start filming in January 2026. With that reset, the release window is now aiming for 2027 or 2028. No exact date yet.
Bottom line: Jeon Jong-seo is a sharp pickup for a series built on myth and intensity, and if Stahelski brings his fight-craft to swords the way he did to gun-fu, this could actually sing. Curious to see how much the Watchers factor in this time.