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Russell Crowe is stepping into Sean Connery's shoes in "Highlander" remake

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 12:01 PM ET

Henry Cavill has been swapped out as Superman, but he's not resting on his laurels. Cavill will be starring in a remake of "Highlander," the successful 1986 action-fantasy film. You know, a bunch of nigh-immortal Highlanders battling to the death because "There can only be one!" and all that? The premise wasn't terrible, but the execution included casting Frenchman Christopher Lambert as a Scot and the Scottish Sean Connery as a Spaniard.

Cavill is stepping into the Lambert role, and by dint of being British is closer to viably playing a Scot than Lambert. Also, maybe Cavill's character won't be Connor MacLeod, but a British guy. To that end, we aren't expecting the mentor character, played by Connery in the original, to be named Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez. After all, in this remake he's being played by Russell Crowe.

Well, now that we think about it, the New Zealand actor's character in "Gladiator" was Spanish, and he chewed the hell out of the scenery playing Zeus in "Thor: Love and Thunder." Maybe the folks at Amazon MGM told Crowe he could play a Spanish guy and he jumped on board with gusto.

All told, though, the casting of Cavill and Crowe is a good start to a new "Highlander" movie. Chad Stahelski, the guy who directs the "John Wick" movies, is helming this picture, and he knows how to direct fight scenes and violence. The action will be stepped up in this remake. Now, we just need to see what kind of accent Crowe is using in the Connery role.

(h/t Variety)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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