Summit Entertainment has their sights set on Tom Cruise for a pivotal role in their upcoming Highlander reboot. Sources told The Wrap that the actor is being courted to play Juan Ramirez, the mentor role that Sean Connery made famous in the original film. Cruise fans shouldn’t start lining up for tickets just yet, as the source claims that the actor is “far from talks” and that Summit is “far from negotiations with Tom Cruise,” but that doesn’t mean Summit isn’t campaigning for that to happen.
Cruise is an interesting choice for the part and tends to do some of his best work in supporting roles, although he usually stays away from well-known, already established properties with the exception of his Mission: Impossible films. His schedule opens up after he wraps filming on Mission: Impossible 5, but an actor of his notoriety always has numerous projects on his offering plate.
Highlander tells the story of a Scottish immortal and his quest for revenge against The Kurgan, and takes place throughout many different historical settings. The pop-culture favorite phrase “there can be only one” originates from the film that saw multiple sequels and a television series in the 90s.
Ryan Reynolds was original attached to the lead role of Connor MacLoed, but has since left the project that is being directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. The film will be Nicolas-Troyan’s feature debut, having previously worked as second unit director on Snow White and the Huntsman.