Tom Cruise is currently being pursued to play the mentor role in Summit Entertainment’s “Highlander” remake. The role was brought to life in the original film by the legendary Sean Connery whose character, Ramirez, trained the naive Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) in swordsmanship and the rules of the Immortals.
Cruise is the target of many entertainment companies, which repeatedly try to lure the actor into taking roles in their productions. He is currently filming “Mission Impossible 5.” Should he accept the part in “Highlander,” there is no doubt the role will be built up to showcase the actor who is considered to have a unique status in Hollywood.
A representative for Cruise commented that “Highlander” “is one of many projects that come to him and he discusses,” adding that Cruise is “far from talks” and that “he is offered tons of projects.”
An insider in the “Highlander” camp echoed the skepticism disclosing that Summit “is not in negotiations with Tom Cruise,” though there was no denial that he was the studio’s choice to co-star.
First time director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan will helm the “Highlander” reboot, after doing second unit director chores as well as being the visual effects supervisor on 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman.”
Here is the storyline for the film.
An immortal Scottish swordsman, Connor MacLeod, is on a quest for revenge against the ruthless Kurgan, a barbarian who has chased him across time. Both manage to survive into the modern era in order to come together at the time of “The Gathering” to find out who will be the “one” to win the all-powerful Prize.
If Cruise climbs aboard, he will surely attract a major young star to play the MacLeod lead.
“Highlander” is currently in the early stages of preproduction. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the script along with Melissa Rosenberg. Neal H. Moritz is producing with Peter Davis, while Justin Lin will executive produce after being attached to direct. Cedric Nicolas-Troyan will direct.
Sources: The Wrap, wikipedia, IMDb