The original film poster for the cult fantasy film, Highlander said it all. “He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536. He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York in 1986. His name is Connor MacLeod. He is immortal.” To a kid in the eighties, you didn’t need much more information than that! Swords, and giant epic sword fights set across all eras of time was like catnip to the sci-fi / fantasy crowd. The movie actually didn’t even make its money back, but that didn’t stop it from garnering a cult following that has since sparked several sequels, a TV show, and several books over the years to flesh out the mythologies of these Immortal characters locked in an unending combat until there is only one left to experience “The Quickening.”
Despite not launching the kind of memorable franchise studios had hoped for, both the original film has endured in popularity that people keep trying to bring an entire franchise to true prominence. Most recently a sequel / reboot has been stirring, starring Dave Bautista as the Kurgan in a movie called Highlander: The Reckoning.
Kurt Russell Cast As Connor?
Like a lot of roles, especially movies that aren’t established like Highlander, the main roles are up for grabs. One of the original choices for Connor MacLeod was ol’ Jack Burton himself, Kurt Russell. Hot off the heels of playing Snake Plissken in Escape From New York, Russell had received a script for this movie. His long–time girlfriend, Goldie Hawn urged him not to take the role. The movie he did instead was the equally beloved cult classic, Big Trouble In Little China – thanks Goldie!
The Fabulous Freebirds
The film was originally supposed to start out at a hockey game in the Meadowlands. But instead, it kicked off at Madison Square Garden. Connor is there taking in a big wrestling match. While wrestling fans have always associated MSG with WWE, the promotion that took part in the movie’s filming was the AWA, from Minnesota.
The match being filmed was between Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, and the Tonga Kid against one of the best groups ever - Michael PS Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts; The Fabulous Freebirds.
Queen Was Signed On For One Song
Only a few years prior, another cult classic came out - Flash Gordon. The soundtrack was done by the band Queen. By the time Highlander had come out, they were one of the hottest bands all over the world. They were only tapped and signed up for one song - “Princes Of The Universe.” Freddie Mercury then saw the film and declared that he wanted to write the whole album. The band wrote several more songs for the film that were a part of their album, “A Kind Of Magic.”
Christopher Lambert Didn’t Speak English
When the casting decision was made for Christopher Lambert to play the Immortal Connor MacLeod, no one bothered to find out if he spoke English or not. Despite having very little knowledge of the language and his only prior English-speaking role was as Tarzan in Greystoke, Lambert spent about a month and a half learning the language, at least enough to convincingly a centuries-old Scotsman.
The Quickening
Within the world of Highlander, the Immortals fight one another in the Game for the right to win The Prize. On their way to becoming the final Immortal left standing, they would fight one another to the death, and the only way to kill an Immortal was to lob off their head (hence the need to battle with swords).
When an Immortal is killed, the victor experiences the Quickening, and acquire all of the knowledge of their defeated “brother.” In the real world, The Quickening is actually a medical term almost meaning the same thing from a certain point of view - it’s the moment that a mother feels her baby inside of her.
The Name’s Connor...Brother
The ‘Birds In the original film and Edge and Christian in Highlander: Endgame Aren’t the only wrestling connections that the Highlander films have. Hulkamania himself, Hulk Hogan has made claims in the past that he was approached to be a part of the film as Connor. While that might seem ridiculous now given how the man’s career has been in recent years, in the 80’s, Hulk Hogan was actually one of the biggest stars out there, it stands to reason that someone, somewhere thought might have been a good idea.
Some Scenes Were Lost In A Fire
Like any movie, some sequences were left on the cutting room floor. But unlike a lot of movies, the deleted scenes from Highlander were lost in a fire, so don’t expect any crazy anniversary digital remastered special editions. One of the big deleted sequences involved what sounded like a completely insane sequence involving the Kurgan vs. Yung Dol Kim, an Immortal who had been working as a security guard. Still shots of the battle can be seen on YouTube.
Arnold As The Kurgan
Arnold Schwarzenegger was quickly on his way to becoming the premier action star of the eighties and early nineties when Highlander came out in 1986. Conan, Red Sonja, The Terminator, Commando were all pretty much instant classic action movies. Clancy Brown had a star–making turn as The Kurgan. Highlander could have been a much different film if the producers had gotten their original choice – the Austrian Oak.
Director’s MTV Roots
The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy. One of the reasons that the film has that “80’s Music Video Vibe” during some of Connor’s montage training scenes is because Mulcahy wasn’t just a music video director - he was THE music video director of the day. He spent most of the decade directing hit singles by bands like Duran Duran and Def Leppard.
Perhaps his biggest claim to fame - he directed the premier video for MTV - “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles.”
It Was Only Meant To Be One Film
Thanks to the movie’s fan following, Highlander has spawned five movies, two TV shows, and whole host of novels. The film’s abyss also sequel The Quickening is amongst the worst films ever made and has since been stricken from canon after it tried to explain that the Immortals were actually aliens. But the entire shaky franchise wasn’t supposed to be one. The movie was planned to be a one and done film; perhaps that’s the reason that the sequels weren’t well received?