Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Updates The Highlander Reboot
Posted 03.29.12 by BrentJS
Summit Entertainment has been struggling to get a new Highlander movie off the ground since Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway were hired to pen the script back in 2008. Apparently, that script wasn't quite up to snuff because Summit brought in Twilight Saga screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg to rewrite it last year. Then, when Fast Five proved to be a monster hit and created new opportunities for Justin Lin, he decided he didn't want to be a "director for hire" and dropped out.
Rumors began circulating online back in September of last year that 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo would be taking over for Lin, but there was never any official confirmation of this. Evidently, Fresnadillo did sign on. In a recent interview for his latest movie, Intruders, Fresnadillo said he intends to "refresh the [Highlander] mythology."
We are still working on that. I think it’s early to talk about that. But, yes, definitely it is a project that I would love to do. It’s an amazing idea. And, again, I think it touches something that I really love, which is that connection — supernatural and human, and humanity — with a big theme, which is immortality, you know. Especially, immortality as a curse, you know. How, you know, living through whole history could be a disaster more than something you could enjoy.
When asked if he is a fan of the original, Fresnadillo agreed, calling it an "iconic movie" and saying that it is "an honor" to be on the project. He also confirmed that the new Highlander is definitely going to be a reboot and not a remake of the 1986 original movie.
I would say [it is] a reboot, you know. The intention is to refresh the mythology and put it again on the screen in terms of making a new approach to this world.
Fresnadillo stressed that the movie is still in development, however, and that it might not be his next movie. When asked whether the star of Intruders, Clive Owen, might play Connor MacLeod, the immortal Scottish swordsman at the heart of the movie, Fresnadillo said, "Clive would be an option."
Next Showing: Intruders opens in limited release on March 30