Dave Bautista Teases Upcoming ‘Highlander’ Reboot, Comparing It To ‘John Wick’ Series

Dave Bautista has teased that the upcoming Highlander reboot will be on the same level as the John Wick series, Collider reports.

A remake of the 1986 fantasy cult classic that starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown, Highlander follows a medieval Scottish warrior who discovers he is immortal and enters a competition with other immortals to win a mysterious Prize.

Starring Henry Cavill, this new version was set to begin filming by the end of September, but has since been delayed to early next year after the actor suffered a training injury.

That has not stopped his co-star Dave Bautista, who is hard at work preparing for his role as the villainous Kurgan.

The wrestler turned actor discussed his passion for the project and how he had been pursuing it for years:

…I think I probably tweeted about this role…more than 10 years ago. I’ve been chasing this role…just because I was a huge fan of the original Highlander…I always wanted to be the Kurgan…There was something magical about that role. He’s the villain I love to hate. Same with wrestling, I like being the bad guy, and that was the kind of role that I’ve been searching for…

Bautista then went on to explain how he had been tracking the reboot’s progress and decided to approach Chad Stahelski for a role once he heard the director was on board and the project had moved to Amazon MGM:

I was like, ‘I want this role. Tell me what I’ve got to do to get this role.’ I think he was just like, ‘Slow your horses’…He wasn’t there yet, but he said he’d let me know, he was thinking about it.

Eventually confirmed, Bautista became even more excited about the film when he received the script, penned by Michael Finch:

I was so blown away by the script because, without saying too much, this is such a great reboot. We’re still paying tribute and giving a nod to the original, but making it new and fresh and exciting, and also just universe-building. It’s just so much bigger than the original. The action is on par with John Wick.

Stahelski, who also helmed the John Wick films, will produce through his production company, 87Eleven Entertainment. Along with Bautista and Cavill, the Highlander reboot’s cast also includes Russell Crowe, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, and Max Zhang.