Director Chad Stahelski has revealed the start of filming on the reboot of: Highlander starring Herny Cavill.
After some time, some interesting updates have arrived regarding the reboot Of: Highlander, that you will see behind the camera Chad Stahelski e Henry Cavill in the role of Connor McLeoddressed as Christopher Lambert in the original film of 1986. During an interview given to Collider, al Mediterranean Film Festival of Maltathe director has in fact revealed that the shooting they will leave at January 2025 in Scotland.
“We start shooting in Scotland in January, that’s why he’s going there right after he leaves. I’ll be going to Scotland on Monday to do a final reconnaissance.”
The film promises to showcase the signature action style of Stahelskiparticularly in the sword fights, a challenging but exciting element for the director, who recognized the cinematic nature of such fights and expressed his enthusiasm for the project and the whole story behind it.
“It’s another opportunity to build a property that I love,” Stahelski said. “I love what it’s about, I love working with immortality and love stories over time. I think it’s a good way to take a great period piece and science fiction and mix them together.”
Chad Stahelski and balancing sword fighting in action scenes
Stahelski highlighted the complexity of training actors to wield swords convincingly, highlighting that achieving realistic and engaging action sequences requires significant preparation and dedication. However, when it comes to balancing authenticity and entertainment, Stahelski he is careful not to let the film become just a series of sword fights. His action work so far has relied heavily on gunfights, so going all-in is a challenge for him, especially since audiences have been trained on what to expect based on their own stories.
“I will keep to the heart of the matter. For most of the audience I’m going to use the analogy of guns, and what they know about gunfights or car chases, because most of us aren’t involved in gunfights or car chases or sword fights, but we learn about it through movies. And what these films show us is 95% bullshit. You don’t fight 50 people with your bare hands and then walk away, but it’s fun. It is the fulfillment of a wish. In We know John Wick is a cartoon – I know it’s not – but we still have fun. We do tactics, we try to manipulate fire, like the professionals do, the military and we have fun. Sword work is very similar.”
Chad Stahelski thinks the public won’t believe how long it takes to train
Although armed with the best team of stuntman of the world at his disposal, Stahelski He noted that training the actors themselves in combat and choreography was an immense challenge, likening it to training audiences on how to become superstar athletes. Stahelski he added that even Keanu Reevesstar di John Wicktook a decade to learn to do what he does so efficiently, so he has to make sure he can trust his actors not to gouge each other’s eyes out during a sword fight.
“There are some very interesting sword styles, but most of the time we don’t have a lot of time, or three or four weeks to train the cast member. Actors are different from you. If you became an NBA basketball player, could you do it in three weeks? Could you do it in three months? Could you do it in three years? Yet the burden is on us to make them look like the best that ever existed in the world. I don’t think she understands how long it takes. We can use cinematic tricks, stunt doubles, editorial tricks. But at the end of the day, you still have to believe it. When you see Keanu Reeves shooting, that’s Keanu Reeves. When you see Keanu Reeves driving, it’s Keanu driving the car. And it took us almost 10 years to get to that point.”
“For me, swords are one of the most difficult things to do in fight scenes, because if I make too many mistakes with the firearm, the flashes of the barrel are digital and we don’t have to worry about anyone. When we ride in cars, this is also a big concern. But now there are ways, cables that eliminate some of the dangers for the cast. With swords, it’s a little more complicated because now I have to trust my actors to swing this piece of metal at each other, and hope they don’t gouge their eyes out or stab someone. In every sword movie, someone gets poked or hit in the head or something. It takes a little more skill and a little more dedication. So that’s always a concern.”
Stahelski is also interested in entertaining the public, and states: “Sometimes a three-minute sword fight can be a little boring. So I’m more worried about, ‘Am I going to bore you with a spasa fighting movie?’ And how do I include guns, martial arts, car chases and what is the narrative part of the story? I have to understand all this.”
Chad Stahelski and the new style of Highlander
Trusting that his team can make everything convincing, Stahelski He doesn’t worry about the details of his actors’ swordsmanship: his goal now is to bring all the moving pieces together to make the best film possible and introduce sword fighting to a new generation.
“Most of our concerns now aren’t about cast training. We got the machine moving and we have the right cast. We have the right people. We have the right coaches. In the last six months we have found some of the best swordsmen I have ever met in my life and they are helping us. It’s more about understanding how to put all this together and make it into something. It’s not the Princess Bride, it’s not Crouching Tiger, it’s not Master & Commander, it’s not Zorro. What’s this new aspect of action or sword fighting that might get people excited? This keeps me up at night”.
With a big star as its protagonist and top-notch coaches, Stahelski is optimistic in giving life to Highlande. As a master of action cinema, he is committed to redefining swordplay on screen while maintaining a compelling story that is sure to excite fans of the original and newcomers alike
