A major star has joined Henry Cavill’s Highlander reboot. The original movie, released in 1986, starred Christopher Lambert and Connery in a battle between immortal warriors across space and time. Since then, several sequels and spinoffs have been made, and the franchise has also expanded to include a TV series. Lately, Amazon MGM and United Artists have teamed up for a new iteration, with John Wick‘s Chad Stahelski at the helm and Cavill as a lead.
According to Collider, Russell Crowe will star in a key role opposite Cavill, which also sets up a Man of Steel reunion. The Gladiator star has reportedly been cast to play Ramirez, MacLeod’s immortal mentor, a role that was populated by Sean Connery in the 1986 original, per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline‘s report.
What This Means For Highlander
Russell Crowe Is Playing Henry Cavill’s Mentor
Ramirez was born in 898 BC in Egypt under the name of Tak-Ne. As the immortal who took MacLeod under his wings, he takes a crucial role in helping the тιтular immortal prepare for his battle against the Kurgan, played by Clancy Brown in the original movie. Crowe’s casting means there’ll be some shared screentime between him and Cavill. In a past interview with Collider, Stahelski teased “a broad spread of a character arc” with Cavill’s McLeod, who was trained for over 500 years.
Crowe’s role will no doubt involve a lot of action. Known for playing the тιтular gladiator in Ridley Scott’s 2000 Oscar-winner, the star can be seen in several action movies, including Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, 3:10 to Yuma, and the recent Land of Bad. The Oscar winner will next appear in Nuremberg, where he’ll star alongside Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. Meanwhile, he’s also scheduled to play a spy in the upcoming Cold War thriller Billion Dollar Spy and appear as a club owner in Derrick Borte’s action thriller Bear Country.
Our Take On Russell Crowe’s Casting
This Raises The Bar For The Kurgan’s Casting
The Ramirez role sounds very exciting for the Gladiator star. With Stahelski having a stunt background and known for his love for martial arts, Crowe’s new role in Highlander will likely involve some heavy stunts. Among all the high-profile projects that the actor has taken, his version of Ramirez is so far the one I’m most interested in seeing.
Crowe previously played Jor-El, the father of Cavill’s Clark Ken in Man of Steel.
Now, with Cavill and Crowe reuniting, the new movie is off to an incredibly strong start. Crowe’s casting announcement also raises the bar for Kurgan’s casting in the Highlander reboot. It’s still unknown who will play the antagonist, but with the project moving very fast behind the scenes, news will come very swiftly.
Source: Collider, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
