6/18/2013

There Can Be Only None as Ryan Reynolds Exits 'Highlander' Reboot


For the longest time, the Highlander mantra "There can be only one" held true when it comes to Summit Entertainment's reboot. Ryan Reynolds had been the only one attached to the long-developing picture for quite some time, even though the film has had numerous other creative talents attached at various stages. Justin Lin and most recently Juan Carlos Fresnadillo eyed the director's chair, while a plethora of writers, including Twilight scribe Melissa Rosenberg, have taken a crack at the script. But now that "one" is down to "none", as The Wrap reports Reynolds has departed the project.

Losing a star of Reynolds' status is typically a bad thing, but this is being looked at as a positive step in the right direction. When Fresnadillo left, the studio promised to find his replacement quickly, yet that has never happened. The feeling is that a new director would rather come aboard with a totally clean slate, rather than being saddled by Reynolds in the role of immortal swordsman Connor MacLeod. Maybe, but this film is clearly in dire straits and probably won't ever happen, anyway. And if it does it won't be for a damn long time, so oh well! It's probably for the best.

Reynolds has more than enough to fill up his calendar. He'll be making the press rounds for R.I.P.D., which opens this summer, as well voicing the lead snail in Dreamworks' Turbo. He recently wrapped Marjane Satrapi's psycho-thriller, The Voices, and has completed Queen of the Night for Atom Egoyan. He'll next begin filming Tarsem Singh's thriller, Selfless.