The sword is sheathed. After years of false starts, a pre-production injury, and a shoot that stretched from the Scottish Highlands to Hong Kong, Henry Cavill’s Highlander has moved into post-production, with a 2027 theatrical release the working expectation and no official date locked.
Amazon MGM Studios, releasing under the United Artists banner, is mounting the reboot of the 1986 cult classic. Chad Stahelski, the stuntman-turned-director behind the John Wick films, is at the helm. Kerry Williamson and Mike Finch wrote the screenplay, based on Gregory Widen’s original story. Dan Laustsen is the cinematographer. Tyler Bates is scoring the film and is expected to weave in elements of Queen’s original soundtrack. Trade reporting has put the budget near $180 million.
Cavill plays Connor MacLeod, the immortal Scottish warrior born in 1518 and trained to survive the Gathering. He signed on in 2021. The project sat in development for years, shifted studios, and was set to roll in late 2025 before Cavill was injured during rehearsal. Principal photography finally began January 28, 2026, in Scotland.
The itinerary was global. Cameras worked in Scotland and London, then moved to Poland in May for action at Łódź Fabryczna station, near Łódź Cathedral, at the Huta Częstochowa steel mill, and on scale sets built for Jeremy Irons. In mid-August the unit was in Hong Kong: Peel Street and The Center in Central, and a fireworks sequence along the Hung Hom promenade, with Max Zhang, Ada Choi, and action choreographer Dion Lam on set.
Russell Crowe, cast as Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez — the mentor Sean Connery played in 1986 — told reporters in June that he had finished his shoot and called the Amazon production “fantastic,” adding that Stahelski is “incapable of directing a film that is not exciting.” Reports in early October said Cavill completed his work in September. Behind-the-scenes material has already teased large-scale Immortal battles. The next public milestone is the first trailer. None has been released.
The ensemble is built for the Prize. Dave Bautista plays the Kurgan. Karen Gillan is Heather. Djimon Hounsou is Sunda Kastagir. WWE’s Drew McIntyre plays Angus MacLeod. Siobhán Cullen is Brenda. Marisa Abela, Jeremy Irons, and Kevin McKidd are aboard in roles not yet fully detailed. Nassim Lyes and Jun Jong-seo have also been linked to the cast.
Exhibitors got the first real look at CinemaCon in April 2026. Cavill appeared by video from set and opened with the line: “I am Connor MacLeod, who was born in 1518, and I am immortal.” The reel that followed showed a neon-soaked fight inside a crowded rave, sword work, and motorcycle chases — Stahelski’s kinetic grammar applied to a story that has always lived on steel and lightning. At the time, Cavill said the film was about halfway through production and that the company was “creating something truly special.”
Amazon has not dated the movie. With photography wrapped and a visual-effects load that includes centuries of combat, a 2027 premiere is the realistic window. A slip into 2028 has been floated if post runs long. The film is planned for theaters, not a streaming-only bow, with Prime Video expected to follow.
Fans do not have to wait on the feature alone. Titan Comics is adapting Widen’s original, unproduced screenplay as a four-issue series, Highlander: The Original Screenplay. Issue one, 32 pages, streets December 2, 2026. A reissue of Garry Kilworth’s novelization, billed around the forthcoming film, is dated October 6, 2026.
The 1986 film, directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Christopher Lambert, was a modest theatrical performer that became a franchise on home video, Queen’s songs, and the line that still defines it. Sequels and a syndicated series followed. This version is a reboot, not a continuation, and Lambert is not returning.
Stahelski has described the ambition in plain terms: John Wick with swords. If the CinemaCon reel and the scale of the shoot are any indication, the Quickening is no longer theoretical. The date is not set. The fight, at last, is in the can.
There can be only one.
