Russell Crowe cranks up the hype as Henry Cavill-led Highlander wraps filming

Highlander is officially back on the horse. After years of talk and a very long nap for the franchise, Russell Crowe just popped up with a status update: the new movie with Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod has finished shooting, and he sounds pretty fired up about it.

So what did Crowe say?

At the Taormina Film Festival over the weekend (June 14), Crowe said he wrapped his own work and that the film itself is in the can. He also name-checked the director, Chad Stahelski, and vouched for the whole operation, which is being made for Amazon.

'It is an Amazon production, and it is going to be fantastic. It is by Chad Stahelski, who directed all the John Wick movies, so you know he is incapable of directing a film that is not exciting.'

Who is playing who, and who is in charge?

Henry Cavill is swinging the sword as Connor MacLeod. Crowe is playing Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, MacLeod's mentor. Behind the camera is Chad Stahelski, best known for steering the John Wick series and, before that, coordinating stunts on The Matrix. Translation: expect clean, muscular action and a lot of blades doing what blades do.

Yes, people have already seen a little

There were a few glimpses floating around online during the shoot — including set photos out of Poland earlier this month — and Cavill talked the movie up at CinemaCon in Las Vegas during its first-look presentation. Earlier in production he said that even at the halfway mark, they felt like they were making something special. Now that cameras have stopped rolling, that confidence seems to be spreading to the rest of the cast.

The bumpy road to getting here

• 2021: Cavill is announced as the lead.
• 2025: Russell Crowe joins the cast as Ramírez.
• 2025: Production hits more delays, including Cavill getting hurt during rehearsals.
• Early January 2026: Filming finally starts for real.
• June 2026: Crowe says filming is wrapped at the Taormina Film Festival.
• Release: Still no official date; the current expectation is 2027.

So when can we actually see it?

There is no locked-in release date yet. The working expectation is 2027, which makes sense even with filming wrapped — there is a lot of post-production on a movie like this. You might see folks tossing around 'next year' hype because Crowe is talking like a proud coach after a playoff win, but for now, plan on 2027 until Amazon says otherwise.

Bottom line: the franchise has been off screens for well over a decade, fans want a real revival, and Crowe is out here saying they have it. If Stahelski brings that John Wick precision to immortal sword-fighting, this could be the shot in the arm Highlander has needed for ages.