“There can be only one”—with this legendary movie quote, cult actor Russell Crowe teases his look for the *Highlander* reboot directed by Chad Stahelski.
Russell Crowe has already played a Roman gladiator, Superman’s father, a legendary Wild West gangster, Robin Hood, and Zeus, the father of the gods.Now the 62-year-old actor is also becoming an immortal swordsman!
InChad Stahelski’s reboot of Highlander, Russell Crowe takes on the role of Connor MacLeod’s mentor, JuanSánches-Villalobos Ramírez. And anyone familiar with the original knows that Ramírez has at least one brutal duel ahead of him: against the so-called Kurgan, who is portrayed by Dave Bautista in the reboot.
And Russell Crowe is getting in shape for it:On X (formerly Twitter), the actor personally reveals how he’s bulking up for his role in Highlander. Take a look at Crowe’s transformation for yourself:
There can be only one … pic.twitter.com/wR80g36MMb
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) April 18, 2026
In fact, Highlander has been in production since January 2026.Production was originally supposed to start much earlier, but then lead actor Henry Cavill injured himself during preparatory training for the film. The new Connor McLeod didn’t let that slow him down for long,but quickly got back to his routine.
Highlander demands a lot from its stars
Did Cavill perhaps encourage Crowe to go all out for his Highlander role? Maybe. But Crowe was likely well aware of exactly what he was committing to with Highlander.
After all, Chad Stahelskiis in charge of the new action film about immortal swordsmen, having already revolutionized the genre with John Wick. And Keanu Reeves certainly had to sweat and bleed a lot for that!
Stahelski actually already has big plans for Highlander.Ideally, the reboot is supposed tolay the foundation for a new franchisespanning multiple films and even TV series. That worked out pretty well with John Wick: Globally, the action series starring Keanu Reeves has grossed over a billion US dollars so far!
Meanwhile, the Highlander reboot features not only Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, and Dave Bautista: Also joining the cast are Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond), Jeremy Irons (Watchmen), and Maria Abela (Back to Black).
An official release date has not yet been announced, but we can expect it sometime between mid- and late 2027.
