The Highlander remake moved from Lionsgate to Amazon MGM because the studio is banking on nostalgia IP

Among the many delays in the long gestation of the Highlander reboot, Lionsgate had planned an expansive new franchise for the franchise under Chad Stahelski’s direction, but things changed as a report stated that his “vision for the film fit better into the Amazon model.” It was recently reported that the mystical film, which has Henry Cavill‘s attachment, migrated from Lionsgate to Amazon MGM. The new deal will give United Artists full rights to the franchise, with Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt set to produce alongside Neal H. Moritz and 87Eleven Entertainment.

The Wrap now reports that one of the reasons Amazon MGM is getting friendly with the 80s IP is because the studio is embracing the call for nostalgic revamps. Their strategy is to attract a Gen-X-focused audience that also played into their success with “dad TV” action shows like Jack Ryan and Reacher. Along with Highlander, Amazon MGM also collected the rights for Masters of the Universe and Voltron, in which Henry Cavill is also attached. The Masters of the Universe film has already been in production with Travis Knight at the helm (with Knight already sharing his love for these nostalgic 80s cartoons in his Transformers spin-off, Bumblebee ). Additionally, Voltron‘s production started last December and recently wrapped.

Producer Adrian Askarieh, whose credits include The Hitman franchise and The Last Bear, told The Wrap, “Amazon MGM is establishing themselves as the kind of studio similar to what Warner Bros. was in the ’90s and the 2000s. They have put together an eclectic slate of original and IP-based big-budget and mid-budget movies; many of them driven by movie stars. Their presentation at April’s CinemaCon effectively emphasized this strategy. I think it’s exciting for the business and the creative community as a whole.”

Stahelski, who has been attached to the project since 2016, had previously said that filming would get underway in January, which obviously faltered. Amazon MGM’s dedication to these established titles may be just the fire to light under it. “It’s just a tough nut to crack because the Highlander property is so involved and the mythology is so deep,” Stahelski said in 2020. “But to try and make it our own, and be somewhat true to the original, yet do it in a way that makes it ours, is a little tricky. We don’t want to do a remake. We don’t want to do a reinvention. We want to do something that’s fresh, that utilizes the mythology of what everyone loves from the first movie.“

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