The Henry Cavill-led Highlander reboot has found its villain. The upcoming Amazon MGM Studios project will be a remake of the original 1986 movie of the same name, about an immortal Scottish Highlander who battles various supernatural enтιтies.
The original movie starred Christopher Lambert as the Scottish immortal Connor MacLeod, who is working as an antiques dealer in New York at the time when the movie begins, and Sean Connery as the Egyptian immortal Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, who becomes MacLeod’s mentor. Cavill and Russell Crowe will play those roles respectively in the Highlander reboot.
Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, it has been confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Dave Bautista will be playing the reboot’s primary antagonist. Bautista’s character is reportedly the immortal known as The Kurgan, who was played by Clancy Brown in the 1986 movie.
What This Means For Highlander
Dave Bautista is an actor and former professional wrestler whose best-known big-screen role is most likely that of the overly literal alien warrior Drax the Destroyer in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies. However, even though that character is heroic, he has played his fair share of villains and morally gray characters.
Dave Bautista also played Drax in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder.
One of his most notable early villain roles is that of Mr. Hinx in the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre. Hinx was an ᴀssᴀssin who worked with the movie’s main antagonist, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), and occupied a henchman position that is common throughout the franchise, as seen with characters such as Oddjob and Jaws.
Other villainous or morally gray characters Bautista has played include Baron Harkonnen’s nephew Glossu Rabban in 2021’s Dune, the men’s rights activist Duke Cody in 2022’s Glᴀss Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and the regretful home invader Leonard in 2023’s Knock at the Cabin.
All of these roles combined have most likely prepared him well to portray the villain in the Highlander reboot.
Our Take On Dave Bautista Joining Highlander
Dave Bautista is a physically imposing presence who will imbue the character with a very different feel than Clancy Brown did in the original Highlander movie. While both stars are more than six feet tall, Brown’s version of the character was more lean and imposing rather than physically powerful.
However, this change to the character makes sense because the Henry Cavill movie has a lead who is similarly more physically imposing than Lambert’s original protagonist. Bringing in Bautista will put both characters on a more even playing field in the upcoming Highlander, making the threat that The Kurgan poses to MacLeod feel more viable and potent.
