Henry Cavill's Highlander has reportedly shifted its production kickoff yet again. The Highlander reboot, which stars Henry Cavill as lead character Connor MacLeod and is set to be directed by John Wick's Chad Stahelski, is a new feature-length installment in the fantasy series about warring immortals that kicked off with the 1986 Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert movie of the same name. It eventually grew into a sprawling multimedia franchise that already includes five live-action movies, an animated movie, three television shows, a web series, books, comics, video games and more.
The fantasy-centric site Redanian Intelligence reports that the Highlander reboot is now eyeing a production start date in May 2025 after delays that are seemingly related to scheduling conflicts with Cavill's upcoming Voltron movie. This is yet another delay for the reboot, which had already been pushed to January 2025 while Stahelski handled reshoots for the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina, which was directed by Len Wiseman. However, there has still been no adjustment to the fantasy movie's 2026 release window.
What This Means For Highlander
The Henry Cavill Movie Could Still Hit Its Release Window
This Highlander report may be one of a string of recent delays, but it could reveal that the movie is still on track. While there aren't too many fantasy movies at the same budget level released in a given year, precedent can still offer some insight as to whether a May 2025 start date will allow the movie to stick with a 2026 release window. Below, see the production timelines for several somewhat comparable fantasy outings from the past two years:
Title
Production Start
Production Wrap
Release Date
Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)
March 16, 2021
August 2021
April 28, 2023
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
April 2021
August 19, 2021
March 31, 2023
Wonka (2023)
September 2021
March 2022
December 15, 2023
Damsel (2024)
February 2, 2022
July 1, 2022
March 8, 2024
It seems that the average time for principal photography on the previous fantasy movies was about five months, usually followed by about seven to eight months of post-production and promotion before the release date. If Highlander indeed begins filming in May 2025 and follows this roughly 13-month timeline, the debut of the new Henry Cavill character could indeed come before the end of 2026. However, it most likely would not be ready until the end of the year, with a possible release window some time between late June and December.
Our Take On The Highlander Report
The Franchise's Viability Is Still Questionable
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It remains to be seen if this delay on the Henry Cavill reboot helps or hurts the movie. If it hits its 2026 release window, it will come nearly two full decades after the 2007 premiere of the previous Highlander movie. This hiatus may have allowed nostalgia for the franchise room to grow, but it may also mean that general interest in the franchise has died down and that any further delays could pose greater and greater challenges. Ultimately, only the movie's commercial performance will determine the true outcome.
Highlander is a reboot of the 1986 movie that starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. The reboot is directed by Chad Stahelski and stars Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod.
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