Fast & Furious Director To Remake Highlander
Summit Entertainment has announced that Justin Lin will direct a re-imagination (ie reboot) of Highlander. Of course, Summit hopes that this reboot with "spur a new franchise for the studio."
Lin made his name with the awesome High School-based indie crime drama Better Luck Tomorrow in 2002 (if you haven't seen it, add it to your netflix queue), but has since turned out mostly generic Hollywood crap like Annapolis, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious. The good news is that Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are working on the new take, which will expand on Highlander's original core mythology of immortals battling amongst us, hunting each other through the ages by tapping its newly minted creative team to take its re-imagination to new heights.
Full press release after the jump.
SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT HARNESSES FILMMAKING TEAM BEHIND FAST & FURIOUS FOR THE STUDIO'S RE-IMAGINATION OF HIGHLANDER
Acclaimed Action Director Justin Lin and Producer Neal H. Moritz Join IRON MAN Screenwriters Marcum and Holloway, Original HIGHLANDER Producer Peter Davis on Board
Los Angeles, CA September 22, 2009 – Summit Entertainment announced today that it has tapped the filmmaking team behind this spring's hit film FAST & FURIOUS – director Justin Lin and producer Neal H. Moritz – to direct and produce respectively the studio's re-imagination of the cult film HIGHLANDER. Summit's HIGHLANDER is being written by IRON MAN screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. Peter Davis, long time producer of HIGHLANDER, will also produce the film. Summit acquired the rights to remake the cult classic from Davis – Panzer Productions, Inc. in May of 2008.
Summit's film will expand on the original HIGHLANDER's core mythology of immortals battling amongst us, hunting each other through the ages by tapping its newly minted creative team to take its re-imagination to new heights. Plans call for the re-imagination to spur a new franchise for the studio.
"We are privileged to have this amazing opportunity to reinvent one of the great franchises," said Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairman of Summit Entertainment. "Neal and Justin have proven more than once that they can deliver an entertaining and exciting blockbuster."
Added Peter Davis of Davis-Panzer Productions, "Justin and Neal are an exciting directing/producing team and I am confident that they will deliver a truly dynamic film while being totally respectful of HIGHLANDER Legend."
In HIGHLANDER, after centuries of dueling to survive against others like him, Connor MacLeod, an immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his kind, a murderously brutal barbarian, who lusts for the fabled Prize.
Justin Lin most recently directed the hit action film FAST & FURIOUS, the fourth film of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise. He also directed THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, and BETTER LUCK TOMORROW.
In addition to FAST & FURIOUS, Neal Moritz and his Original Film banner have produced a myriad of action films including the upcoming FLASH GORDON and THE GREEN HORNET as well as I AM LEGEND, 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER.
Lin and Moritz are represented by CAA.
About Summit Entertainment, LLC
Summit Entertainment is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio. The studio handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures. Summit Entertainment, LLC also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product. Summit Entertainment, LLC plans to release 10 to 12 films annually.