John Wick's Chad Stahelski to direct Highlander reboot

Swords at the ready – the director of ‘John Wick’ is taking on ‘Highlander.’

Now, if you keep up-to-date with comic book movie news, you may be thinking, “didn’t the director of ‘John Wick’ just sign on for ‘Deadpool 2’?” Well, that was David Leitch, the other half of the directorial duo behind ‘John Wick’ (a film to which the maxim “there can be only one” clearly doesn’t apply).

So whilst Leitch tackles the Merc with a Mouth, Chad Stahelski will take the helm on this new take on the 1986 action-adventure hit, which starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown as immortal swordfighters battling across time. Directed by Russell Mulcahy, it spawned several sequels and a spin-off TV series in the 1990s.

The reboot has been in development hell at Lionsgate since 2008; Ryan Reynolds was at one point attached to star but has long since left the project, whilst directors previously attached have included Justin Lin, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (again, “there can be only one” doesn’t quite fit).

But perhaps Stahelski can finally make the reboot work. The director tells The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve been a huge fan of the original property since I saw it in high school.

“Such great themes of immortality, love, and identity are all wrapped up in such colorful mythology. I can’t think of a better property that gives the opportunity to create interesting characters, mythic themes and action set pieces.”

No casting news or release dates just yet, but the film will be produced by Neal H. Moritz and Peter Davis.

Stahelski’s latest directorial effort, ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (directed solo this time), opens in UK cinemas on 17 February 2017.

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