Ryan Reynolds Loses Out To Another Star As Choice To Be The Next Highlander
In spite of Ryan Reynolds actually being attached to the reboot at one point, our survey shows more people want to see Chris Hemsworth play Connor MacLeod than the Deadpool star.
A Highlander reboot has been in the works for well over a decade, and at one point, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds was attached to succeed Christopher Lambert as the new Connor MacLeod. Reynolds eventually dropped out, but we put his name up in a new GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT poll on Twitter, only to find few fans wanted him in the role anyway. Given the choices of Reynolds, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth, the overwhelming majority of the close to 500 respondents chose the man known best for playing the god of thunder.
Chris Hemsworth is the clear lead for the role out of the four choices we gave respondents, with Ryan Reynolds — ironically as the only one confirmed to at one point have the role, according to a 2012 report from MovieWeb — is dead last. It’s understandable that fans would have a difficult time seeing the Free Guy star playing Connor MacLeod. Whether he’s in a rom-com or an action blockbuster, Reynolds is known more for his comedic timing, something that doesn’t really fit with the mysterious Highlander.
While he has yet to be confirmed to have the role — as Ryan Reynolds was at one point — we learned just last week that Chris Evans is in talks to play the Scottish hero. While Evans isn’t known to play smartmouth characters like Reynolds, he also has yet to play a character set in a time period any earlier than the twentieth century, so again it’s easy to see why fans might have a tough time imagining him as the Scotsman who goes on to defeat the Kurgan.
At the same time, it’s no mystery why Chris Hemsworth seems more appropriate in the role to a lot of fans than either Ryan Reynolds or Chris Evans. After all, most of us have gotten to know Hemsworth as Marvel’s Thor, a guy who, more often than not, could easily double as a warrior in a fantasy movie. We’ve even seen lightning course through him — an effect similar to what happens to one immortal in the Highlander series when they kill another immortal.
Highlander debuted in 1986 with Christopher Lambert playing the titular hero, the late Sean Connery as his mentor Ramirez, and Clancy Brown as the villainous Kurgan. The film had a decidedly finite premise: that immortals hidden in humanity would one day battle until only one was left, and that one would choose the future course for the species. In spite of Connor MacLeod defeating the Kurgan in the first film and claiming the prize, the spinoffs and sequels have continued, including two live-action TV series, an animated series, an animated film, and four live-action sequel movies.
