# ?28 Weeks Later? Helmer In Talks To Direct ?Highlander? Remake



## Stunna (Sep 12, 2011)

Source



> ?There can be only one? may be the mantra of the Highlander franchise, but it apparently doesn?t apply to how many reboots/remakes a filmmaker can be attached to.
> 
> Juan Carlos Fresnadillo signed up to helm the Crow reboot earlier this year and is now reportedly the top choice to direct another re-fashioning of a cult title: Summit?s Highlander remake, which Fast Five helmer Justin Lin is no longer attached to (he officially left the project about a month ago).
> 
> ...



There can only be several.


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## The Big G (Sep 12, 2011)

I'd cast Gerald Butler (he's actually Scotish!) as Conner

Vin Diesl or the Rock as the Kurgan

and Lambert can play Ramirez


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

There are few series I want to see get a reboot as much as Highlander but all the crap I've been hearing about the previous attempts hasn't filled me with much confidence.


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## Furious George (Sep 12, 2011)

The Big G said:


> Vin Diesl or the Rock as the Kurgan



Don't ever get into the film business.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 12, 2011)

They're gonna butcher Highlander.


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## The Big G (Sep 12, 2011)

Furious George said:


> Don't ever get into the film business.



i know lol

no can ever top Clancy Brown's performance as the Kurgan


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## Arishem (Sep 12, 2011)

I hope we see a resurgence of katana wank if they get this thing off the ground.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 12, 2011)

Katanas are the most powerful weapon in the history of mankind bar none.


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## Stunna (Sep 12, 2011)

This movie better have tons of explosions and awesome sword fights.


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## MartialHorror (Sep 12, 2011)

I dont mind the idea, but I think "Conan The Barbarian" failing so miserably at the box office will keep it from getting off the ground.

Honestly though, what more could they do with it? Highlander has pretty much exploited every gimmick possible (movies have taken place in the past, present and future. It's dealt with groups of immortals, kung fu immortals, barbarian immortals, wizard immortals, etc. I havent even seen the show, so I presume other aspects have been used as well.

At least Conan had the source material. what can be done with Highlander that hasnt been done before?


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

I'd like to see them actually have a trilogy of movies planned out next time rather than simply ignoring the fact that the game was over at the end of the last movie.

It'd be good to tie it into a new tv series too.


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## Arishem (Sep 12, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> Katanas are the most powerful weapon in the history of mankind bar none.


Japan would've won WW2 if they poured all of their assets into perfecting the katana instead of reverse engineering filthy gaijin technology.


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## Stunna (Sep 12, 2011)

Tsukiyomi said:


> I'd like to see them actually have a trilogy of movies planned out next time rather than simply ignoring the fact that the game was over at the end of the last movie.
> 
> It'd be good to tie it into a new tv series too.





> It'd be good to tie it into a new tv series too.





> It'd be good to tie it into a new tv series too.



I love you forever.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 12, 2011)

MartialHorror said:


> I dont mind the idea, but I think "Conan The Barbarian" failing so miserably at the box office will keep it from getting off the ground.
> 
> Honestly though, what more could they do with it? Highlander has pretty much exploited every gimmick possible (movies have taken place in the past, present and future. It's dealt with groups of immortals, kung fu immortals, barbarian immortals, wizard immortals, etc. I havent even seen the show, so I presume other aspects have been used as well.
> 
> At least Conan had the source material. what can be done with Highlander that hasnt been done before?


More super powers. Like Immortals who can fly and react to laser beams and shit. 

I actually think the idea has a lot of directions it can go, I also think the originals are badass enough.


Arishem said:


> Japan would've won WW2 if they poured all of their assets into perfecting the katana instead of reverse engineering filthy gaijin technology.


Indeed. Imagine if they made a Katana as big as the Chrysler Building and gave it to Godzilla?


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## Stunna (Sep 12, 2011)

I've refused to watch the sequels past _The Quickening_, so I have to ask: Do they ever introduce giving Immortals their own unique power like flight or fire manipulation? That seems fitting, if a bit cliched.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 12, 2011)

The only time they've introduced anything beyond the basic Immortal powerset (immortality, rapid healing) was when they introduced the illusionist guy and then the latest movie with super sped (I never actually watched that shit though).

The illusionist/magician guy wasn't really special either. He was able to survive being cut in half and he put himself back together though.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

There have been a few immortals with magical powers but whether or not those powers transfer over with their quickening (as they should) varies wildly.

One thing I would love to see them play on is the fact that the victor is supposed to get all the losers knowledge.  So anyone who has taken a sufficient number of heads should be brilliant on a number of subjects and pretty wealthy (as they'd have all necessary knowledge to do things like drain the person bank accounts).


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 12, 2011)

I always liked the idea that when they take someone's Quickening they gain all of their experience, too, but that never seemed to matter.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

Yeah that was the one aspect they seemed to throw out the window.  The only time I ever remember seeing it used was in the highlander cartoon which did that at the expense of throwing out almost all the rest of the mythology and rules.

I'd even be fine with them not instantly gaining the entirety of that person knowledge but having to absorb it slowly over time, especially for ancient immortals who would be transfering a lot of knowledge.

I remember in the tv series when they introduced the concept of a dark quickening they also touch somewhat on this subject.


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## Ennoea (Sep 12, 2011)

> It'd be good to tie it into a new tv series too.



Yeah that's a good idea, that'll sure work out for the best.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

Ennoea said:


> Yeah that's a good idea, that'll sure work out for the best.



Considering its all up in the air right now what's wrong with hoping for the best?


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## MartialHorror (Sep 12, 2011)

I dunno. When movies are written as trilogies (especially when there is no source material), things become a bit clunky. Look at the Matrix sequels. The first one was stand alone and it was great. The second-third ones were written for each other and people were upset. Same with "Pirates of the Caribbean". 

Most filmmakers struggle with balancing story and action when it comes to movies designed to be trilogies. Captain America and Thor struggled because both movies were made for the sake of the Avengers, so the story/action was oddly balanced. The Matrix films were the worst though, as most of the action was shifted into the second film (making it dumb) and most of the story was shifted into the third film (making it boring).

If you tried to fit in a TV show somewhere in there, it would likely be worse. For one, most actors dont want to go from movies to TV. Almost EVERY huge TV show has the actors wanting to get out because they get tired of it. So expect new actors to be playing the roles.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with hoping for the best. I feel though that just sets up for bitter disappointment. With that said, after "Conan", I'll be surprised if they make this.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 12, 2011)

I don't think the Matrix was written with a trilogy in mind.  The first movie was nicely self contained, the other two both feel really tacked on at the last minute.

I see no reason they couldn't write three movies that tie together smoothly as they were written to flow into each other.


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## Stunna (Sep 12, 2011)

The Wachowski Brothers stated that they had plotted the entire Matrix Trilogy to end up the way it did, and I'm a bit shaky on this part, but I read that the original Matrix resulted the way it did out of executive meddling, not their original vision.

Take that for what you will.


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## MartialHorror (Sep 12, 2011)

> I don't think the Matrix was written with a trilogy in mind. The first movie was nicely self contained, the other two both feel really tacked on at the last minute.
> 
> I see no reason they couldn't write three movies that tie together smoothly as they were written to flow into each other.



I said it was mainly the second and third. In theory, I;d agree. Why should they be a problem? I think it can be done. It's just not easy, and off the top of my head, I cant think of a good example (of a movie trilogy that isnt based on a book).

I think the problem is that while the planning might be okay, each movie needs to be edited as their own separate entity. Even the Lotr trilogy suffered from this because they had to cut out Saurumon because that scene wouldnt fit well with the ending of the 2nd film or the opening of the 3rd film.

There's too much that needs to be balanced out and its uber hard to do, and Hollywood is not patient for scripts.


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## Detective (Sep 12, 2011)

"There can only be one fuck-up"

Why does anyone in Hollywood not live by this mantra? Many childhood memories would not be horribly raped without conscious if they just adhered to it.


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## -Dargor- (Sep 13, 2011)

MartialHorror said:


> I dont mind the idea, but I think "Conan The Barbarian" failing so miserably at the box office will keep it from getting off the ground.
> 
> Honestly though, what more could they do with it? Highlander has pretty much exploited every gimmick possible (movies have taken place in the past, present and future. It's dealt with groups of immortals, kung fu immortals, barbarian immortals, wizard immortals, etc. I havent even seen the show, so I presume other aspects have been used as well.
> 
> At least Conan had the source material. *what can be done with Highlander that hasnt been done before?*



Oh you'll be sorry you asked that


*Spoiler*: __ 



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQDUX6X6-w[/YOUTUBE]


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Tsukiyomi said:


> Yeah that was the one aspect they seemed to throw out the window.  The only time I ever remember seeing it used was in the highlander cartoon which did that at the expense of throwing out almost all the rest of the mythology and rules.
> 
> I'd even be fine with them not instantly gaining the entirety of that person knowledge but having to absorb it slowly over time, especially for ancient immortals who would be transfering a lot of knowledge.
> 
> I remember in the tv series when they introduced the concept of a dark quickening they also touch somewhat on this subject.


I remember the series tried to touch on that. When Duncan killed one of the oldest, cruelest immortals ever (one of Mythos's old buddies) he started having visions and was slowly turning evil or something.

But if he gained 3,000+ years of sword fighting experience he should be unbeatable. But really he didn't seem to get any better.


Detective said:


> "There can only be one fuck-up"
> 
> Why does anyone in Hollywood not live by this mantra? Many childhood memories would not be horribly raped without conscious if they just adhered to it.


They do adhere to it, but instead of just making one fuck-up and quitting, they try to make the most potent fuck-up to defeat all other fuck-ups, and become the one and gain the prize and control the world of fuck-ups for eternity.


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## Pseudo (Sep 13, 2011)

I remember watching this when I was a kid. I doubt I will enjoy as much as I did before though.


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## Pseudo (Sep 13, 2011)

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnJt9p-sHho[/YOUTUBE]


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## -Dargor- (Sep 13, 2011)

Forgot about the ponytail


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Best intro music for a TV series of all time prior to Suits.


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## Clay Man Gumby (Sep 13, 2011)

Honestly, I'd rather see a new TV series instead.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

I like the idea of a new series. But a movie is a necessary evil that may actually be good.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

Clay Man Gumby said:


> Honestly, I'd rather see a new TV series instead.



Ideally I'd like to see both with the stories intertwined but I don't think we'll _ever_ see that for _any_ series.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

They tried to do that with Highlander Endgame, but Connor MacLeod and his movies just don't fit into the Highlander series universe at all.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

Just because they failed in that movie doesn't mean they can't fit, it just means they did a shitty job of getting them to link together.

Connor was already in the pilot episode of the Highlander series and was mentioned many times.  So the stories were already linked to a degree.

My main problem with Endgame was them throwing the rules out the window,  having Jacob Kell killing immortals on holy ground and having immortals gang up on each other.


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## Tranquil Fury (Sep 13, 2011)

First highlander movie is my fav, the rest of the movies were terrible.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Tsukiyomi said:


> Just because they failed in that movie doesn't mean they can't fit, it just means they did a shitty job of getting them to link together.
> 
> Connor was already in the pilot episode of the Highlander series and was mentioned many times.  So the stories were already linked to a degree.
> 
> My main problem with Endgame was them throwing the rules out the window,  having Jacob Kell killing immortals on holy ground and having immortals gang up on each other.



That's true, but I think it was more of a fanservice in the series. I mean, in the movies Connor was the last guy standing in the future. Then they changed it to Duncan. 

Also in the movies Immortals could breathe underwater/didn't need to breathe. Given that the series was at least consistent I think it overrides the movies since they are incredibly inconsistent. I mean in one he becomes the one but the next movies some Immortals from space come and ruin everything and that's ignoring an immortal frozen and "didn't count" somehow. I don't even remember what the movies were about almost, it's too confusing.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

I always preferred the series version of immortality where they died and were resurrected by their immortality.  Kind of hard to hide your immortality when someone watches you get shot in the head or impaled or burned alive and you just shrug it off.

In the series they stayed dead until their bodies were in a position to regenerate and reawaken them.

Given how many times they just ignored "the game is over" in the movies I don't really see the outrage at them doing it again in endgame.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Remember that guy who was stranded on an island and starved to death over and over and over again? That was in the series, right?

I also liked how in the series they had flashbacks to the past showing Duncan's vast experience. 

I wouldn't mind a reboot/refocus for a movie/series. It doesn't need to be the person who inevitably becomes the ruler of the world or anything (that also confuses me; the prize was supposed to be losing your immortality but somehow gaining dominion over the earth?).


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

Yeah that guy was in the series.

Yeah I HATED how they changed the prize in the end.  It was supposed to be ultimate power and dominion over all things but they changed it to "oh yeah, now you can die".


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Well with a new series they could reign that in and actually produce a clearer goal. Or maybe just ignore that all together and focus on other parts of the Immortal lore. There are plenty of directions they could go with it.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

I'd rather they spend the time telling the stories of the various immortals.  I'd like them to make "The Highlander" much much older too, like in the neighborhood of 2,000 years old like in the anime.  That would give so much more history to work with.


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## blacklusterseph004 (Sep 13, 2011)

> Well with a new series they could reign that in and actually produce a clearer goal. Or maybe just ignore that all together and focus on other parts of the Immortal lore. There are plenty of directions they could go with it.


By the sound of things the canon needs some major reworking.

Thinking about this it bares some interesting similarities to Afro Samurai and the headband wars. They might think of taking the confrontations that route.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

Yeah, I always wanted him to be older, too. Four hundred years isn't all that much when you look at the span of things.


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## Stunna (Sep 13, 2011)

Tsukiyomi said:


> Yeah that guy was in the series.
> 
> Yeah I HATED how they changed the prize in the end.  It was supposed to be ultimate power and dominion over all things but they changed it to "oh yeah, now you can die".



The prize was mortality _and_ planet scale telepathy. With that kind of power in the wrong hands, dominion seems like it'd be a possibility, though it'd take time.

Or we could assume that the Prize appears in whatever form the winner of the Game chooses, if even on a subconscious level. Conner wanted to be able to live a life with a family, and to help people, didn't he? I think that's why he got mortality and the telepathy if that's the case.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

I'd love to see the character of Methos explored more.  They always said he was 5,000 years old but he said that was only when he took his first head and that everything before that was kind of fuzzy.  He could have easily have been much much older.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

I always had the idea he was older, possibly even the first modern man, but he never got enough spotlight. You'd think with all that experience he'd be unbeatable but we also never really got to see him fight all that much.


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## MartialHorror (Sep 13, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> They tried to do that with Highlander Endgame, but Connor MacLeod and his movies just don't fit into the Highlander series universe at all.



I thought that failed simply because the filmmakers did such a poor job throwing everything together. Too many F'ing flashbacks.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 13, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> I always had the idea he was older, possibly even the first modern man, but he never got enough spotlight. You'd think with all that experience he'd be unbeatable but we also never really got to see him fight all that much.



Yeah but remember that he preferred not to fight whenever it was at all avoidable.  But they hinted he was quite a powerful fighter when he said "just because I don't like to fight doesn't mean I can't".

Just because someone has lived a long time doesn't mean they're like Duncan and using all of that time to train and improve their skills.  Look at Darius, he was an ancient immortal who became a monk and a pacifist.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 13, 2011)

MartialHorror said:


> I thought that failed simply because the filmmakers did such a poor job throwing everything together. Too many F'ing flashbacks.


I kinda liked Endgame myself. 


Tsukiyomi said:


> Yeah but remember that he preferred not to fight whenever it was at all avoidable.  But they hinted he was quite a powerful fighter when he said "just because I don't like to fight doesn't mean I can't".
> 
> Just because someone has lived a long time doesn't mean they're like Duncan and using all of that time to train and improve their skills.  Look at Darius, he was an ancient immortal who became a monk and a pacifist.



Yeah, but Methos was also one of the Four Horsemen back in the Bronze Age (drawing from shoddy memory), a bonafide badass, so we know he should have a lot of skill. An immortal doesn't go 5,000+ years without picking up a lot of fighting and survival skills. I just wanted to see more of what he could actually do.

Then again, assuming he spent centuries being a pacifist his skills would've diminished.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 14, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> I kinda liked Endgame myself.
> 
> Yeah, but Methos was also one of the Four Horsemen back in the Bronze Age (drawing from shoddy memory), a bonafide badass, so we know he should have a lot of skill. An immortal doesn't go 5,000+ years without picking up a lot of fighting and survival skills. I just wanted to see more of what he could actually do.
> 
> Then again, assuming he spent centuries being a pacifist his skills would've diminished.



Just because he's old doesn't automatically mean he would have a lot of skill.  Look at Darius, he was around 2,000 years old but spent the vast majority of that time as a monk in a cathedral.

Remember Methos avoided conflict whenever possible and he was so good at it that most immortals think he's just a myth.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 14, 2011)

No, but given his sketchy history he should have a lot of skill, at least back when he was still a "bad guy".


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 14, 2011)

That's part of the prize, but what Stunna said rings a bell.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 14, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> No, but given his sketchy history he should have a lot of skill, at least back when he was still a "bad guy".



Not really.  Years of slaughtering mostly defenseless people that you stopped doing thousands of years ago wouldn't really make you a bad ass now.

As I said Methos does seem to be quite skilled as he himself put it "just because I don't like to fight doesn't mean I can't", I'm just saying his age alone is not that big of a factor in his skill or power.

I always liked the idea of the prize being ultimate power.  Fighting for potentially thousands of years only to end up with the ability die (which you could have done at any time if you let another immortal kill yourself) or have a child whose life is going to seem like the blink of an eye to you seems kind of meh as a prize to me.

If you had ultimate power one would think you could use that to have children anyway if you wanted.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 14, 2011)

Actually, after reading up a little on Methos, it does suggest has some pretty decent swordsmanship skills. 

But the ability to die and have kids is something an Immortal would want (at least some of them), but it is still pretty shoddy. I'd rather stay immortal and have kids and have ultimate power. Like you said, they can always die and growing old isn't any fun at all.


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 14, 2011)

It just seems to me that the single lifetime they had left would go by too fast to enjoy after having lived thousands of years.

Plus like I said with ultimate power they should be able to have kids if they want.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 14, 2011)

But having lived those thousands of years wouldn't they have lived enough already? 

It's just one of those old hollywood things. Immortals are all sick and tired of living forever and just want to die. It always bothers me when they start droning on about it being a curse and how they wish they could live 70 years and slowly turn into a weak pathetic shell of their former self and die in their own feces or something.

I mean, gimme a break.


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## Bathroom_Mop (Sep 14, 2011)

My first experience with the Highlander franchise was Endgame. I saw it when I was younger and I loved it. I tried getting more acquainted with the series but was turned off when I saw the one in the future. It was soo cheaply done, but I said hey.....let see what else there is and downloaded the animated movie. That shit sucked balls and I forgot the whole franchise up until this moment.

What made the whole highlander thing so popular? I want to know so I can see it. What should I avoid? 

Also, hopefully this reboot will kick off. If done correctly, it could be really good


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## Tsukiyomi (Sep 14, 2011)

CrazyMoronX said:


> But having lived those thousands of years wouldn't they have lived enough already?
> 
> It's just one of those old hollywood things. Immortals are all sick and tired of living forever and just want to die. It always bothers me when they start droning on about it being a curse and how they wish they could live 70 years and slowly turn into a weak pathetic shell of their former self and die in their own feces or something.
> 
> I mean, gimme a break.



Some immortals yes, but Methos specifically is over 5,000 years old and has expressed numerous times that he never wants to die if he can avoid it.



Bathroom_Mop said:


> My first experience with the Highlander franchise was Endgame. I saw it when I was younger and I loved it. I tried getting more acquainted with the series but was turned off when I saw the one in the future. It was soo cheaply done, but I said hey.....let see what else there is and downloaded the animated movie. That shit sucked balls and I forgot the whole franchise up until this moment.
> 
> What made the whole highlander thing so popular? I want to know so I can see it. What should I avoid?
> 
> Also, hopefully this reboot will kick off. If done correctly, it could be really good



Initially the series was popular because of the first movie which also helped boost Sean Connery's career at the time.  The series was actually pretty globally popular during its initial run.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 15, 2011)

Must be good being immortal and having super healing.


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## Superrazien (Sep 15, 2011)

I hope they get Kevin McKidd to play Conner.


And If they wanted to they could actually get Ray Stevenson to play the Kurgon lol, it would be like a Rome reunion.


But who the fuck will replace Sean Connery!?


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 15, 2011)

No one can replace Connery. They'll just have to CGI him.


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## The Big G (Sep 15, 2011)

I saw somewhere on the internet that Conner should be played by Michael fassbender aka MAGNETO


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 15, 2011)

He should be played by Brad Pitt.


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## Stunna (Sep 15, 2011)

Michael Fassbender? I could see that.


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## CrazyMoronX (Sep 15, 2011)

Jon Voight.


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