First Highlander Footage
· IGN
The Highlander reboot movie was finally revealed behind closed doors at CinemaCon 2026, with footage showing Henry Cavill facing off against Dave Bautista’s Kurgan — and yes, there can be only one winner.
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The presentation began with a message from Cavill from the set, where he’s still filming. Cavill, let’s remember, had to pause filming due to a leg injury he sustained last year while training for the movie, which delayed production to early 2026.
The footage itself, set to Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You,’ saw The Kurgan tell Cavill' Connor MacLeod: “When my sword changes history, you will have a front row seat.”
There was plenty of colorful action, with Cavill swordfighting in scenes that evoke the tone of the John Wick movies. That makes a lot of sense, since Highlander is helmed by John Wick director Chad Stahelski. Indeed, Highlander has been described as John Wick with swords.
As had been teased, this Highlander reboot is set in beyond present-day New York and Hong Kong, with Cavill playing an immortal sword master who’s been alive for over 500 years, training in all sorts of martial arts along the way. The CinemaCon footage confirmed Cavill’s character, Connor MacLeod, was born in 1518, and is forced into battle at The Gathering. In Highlander lore, The Gathering is a summoning that forces the immortal warriors to face each other in what's called the Game, leaving just one alive.
In January, Cavill posted a first look at his character in the Highlander reboot. The former Superman actor took to Instagram to reveal two images, below, of himself in character. As you’d expect from a Highlander movie, Cavill carries a sword. It looks like he’s in Hong Kong in the first photo, and New York in the second.
For more, check out everything announced and revealed at the Amazon MGM Studios presentation at CinemaCon 2026.
Image credit: Henry Cavill / Instagram.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].