Highlander Update: More on Why Henry Cavill Reboot Moved From Lionsgate to Amazon

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Highlander Update: More on Why Henry Cavill Reboot Moved From Lionsgate to Amazon

More information has come to light as to why the Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill has moved from Lionsgate to Amazon.

John Wick director Chad Stahelski is currently working on a reboot of 1986’s Highlander that will star Cavill. The movie was originally being made for Lionsgate; however, it was announced just last month that it is now instead being made for Amazon MGM Studios. United Artists’ Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt are producing the movie under the new deal.

What do we know about why the Highlander reboot switched studios?

According to a recent report from TheWrap, a budget dispute was one of the main factors as to why the Highlander reboot switched studios. Stahelski reportedly wanted to make the movie for $180 million, while Lionsgate didn’t want to go higher than $165 million.

“Lionsgate execs internally worried that Highlander is a one-quadrant movie, catering to Gen X males who remembered the original movie (and the sequels and syndicated TV series that followed), one of the studio insiders told TheWrap,” the article further reads. “Lionsgate, too, had just made a movie with Stahelski’s Highlander star Henry Cavill and was feeling slightly uneasy. Last year’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a high-octane historical action movie starring Cavill, directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer, cost $60 million to produce and only made $20 million domestically and another $6 million overseas.”

Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile, has been building a portfolio of projects that caters specifically to Gen X, such as shows like Reacher and Jack Ryan, as well as the upcoming Masters of the Universe and Voltron movies.

Plot details for Stahelski’s Highlander movie remain under wraps at this time. No other casting beyond Cavill has been announced, and an official release date has not yet been set.