There Can Only Be One Highlander — Until They Do a Remake — With Ryan Reynolds

This story is going to piss you off, so I included a picture of Ryan Reynolds with an adorable dog to soften the blow. So, what’s the story? The story is this: Producers of the Highlander remake are looking at Reynolds for the lead. Because his action roles of late have been going so well for him? ::coughcough::Green Lantern::coughcough:: Is this a matter of redemption, people knowing that Ryan Reynolds can do better than we’ve seen? Wait a second, I haven’t seen Highlander (I know! it’s terrible! I’m sorry), so is Reynolds secretly perfect for this? I have no idea how to feel about this. But I have a feeling that people who do have an idea will probably be a little bit outraged. Should I remind you that the reboot is also by dudes from the Fast and Furious franchise? This feels bad, you guys. Bad. Maybe they’ll bring Hologram Freddie Mercury back for songs. And I managed to make it sound even worse.

So, I am embarrassed to admit that in this particular case, I’m not familiar enough with Highlander to become passionately outraged about a reboot. However, I can see where people might not want to see Ryan Reynolds in what is considered, by some, to be a cult favorite fantasy action movie because Reynolds is known for his comedic approach to things. Is there room for that in Highlander? I have no idea. I honestly thought this movie had Mel Gibson in it for some reason. But that was Mad Max. Right? Right. Again, I’m so sorry about this.

Anyway, Reynolds is currently the front-runner to take the role made famous by Christopher Lambert. Since I thought Christopher Lambert was Mel Gibson, I’m not sure what this will do for Ryan Reynolds’ career. Connor Macleod is the name of the immortal master swordsman who, um, battles people with a sword and is the Highlander in 16th century Scotland. And there can be only one Highlander, so he kills people.

Reynolds has actually worked with a sword before when he appeared in X-Men: Origins playing Deadpool (!!), a role which earned him his own X-Men spinoff. And he’s honestly not a bad actor, since he performed an entire movie in a coffin in Buried to a pretty fair amount of acclaim. So, maybe this isn’t a bad thing. But I’ll leave that up to the fans who know this movie and not offer my own grossly uninformed opinion.

Originally, Fast Five director Justin Lin was set to helm this, but he turned those reins over to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who directed 28 Weeks Later. Lin will remain on as executive producer.

(via Collider)

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Jamie Frevele