There can be only one, Supa-Fans! Henry Cavill may be sharpening his sword to step into the role of Connor MacLeod in a new Highlander reboot intended to breathe fresh life into the beloved, sword-clashing fantasy franchise, but it’s hard to imagine anyone other than upcoming Supa-Star guest Christopher Lambert being called for the Gathering and fighting for the ultimate prize.
Between an upcoming reboot, multiple sequels and two spin-off television shows, the Highlander franchise has long since evolved beyond the ambitious 1986 adventure film that was once considered a box office flop. However, thanks to strong European reception and a healthy home video release, that flop would eventually become a much-beloved cult classic, and continues to stand not only as the franchise’s best entry, but also as a shining exemplar of ‘80s cinema.
With the OG Connor MacLeod set to join us at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming in Adelaide (30 October – 1 November 2026) and Brisbane (6-8 November 2026), we thought we might seek out the Quickening and look at a few strange facts about the original movie you might not know.
Queen Were Only Supposed To Do One Song
There are so many amazing things about the original Highlander, but the iconic soundtrack from rock legends Queen certainly takes the movie to a whole other level. Contributing a total of nine tracks, many of which would eventually end up on their 1986 A Kind of Magic album, Highlander is as closely connected to Freddie Mercury’s vocals as it is to Lambert’s sword swinging.
However, when Queen were originally approached by director Russell Mulcahy to contribute only a single track to the project, the band fell in love with the rough, 20-minute cut he had shown them.
Praising the sweeping, operatic scale of a narrative spanning centuries, Mercury and the rest of the band immediately set to work on what would eventually become one of the most beloved soundtracks of all time, with each band member contributing their own songs: Freddie Mercury wrote Princes of the Universe, Brian May wrote Who Wants to Live Forever, Roger Taylor wrote It’s a Kind of Magic and John Deacon wrote One Year of Love.
The Sparks Were Real
Sword fighting sits at the heart of Highlander, and the next time you decide to watch the movie again, pay special attention to the sparks that fly every time steel clashes on steel. Because while Highlander did indeed make use of old-school rotoscoping effects for the Quickening (where artists manually insert visual effects by drawing them in frame by frame… it was the ‘80s, kids, no such thing as CGI), Mulcahy also did something else to elevate the fight sequences. Hooking the swords up to car batteries, with the wires hidden under his actors’ clothes, the resulting action would ensure a flash of sparks flew every time the weapons came into contact with one another.
Christopher Lambert Was Still Mastering English
While Highlander was not Lambert’s first English-speaking role (that honour belongs to 1984’s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes), as a native French speaker, he was still in the process of mastering the language when he was first cast in the role. Instead, Lambert would spend months learning his lines phonetically with a dialogue coach, often relying on the musicality and intonation of the lines rather than having a complete grasp of their meaning.
Connor MacLeod Was Originally Set To Be Played By Kurt Russell
Lambert’s portrayal of Connor MacLeod may be legendary now, but he got the job because ‘80s action star Kurt Russell dropped out of the project during pre-production. Originally cast in the role, Russell’s departure reportedly came at the urging of his partner, Goldie Hawn, and he instead went on to film Big Trouble in Little China.
Sean Connery’s Opening Monologue Was Recorded In His Bathroom
From the dawn of time we came… moving silently, down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you… until now.
Those words, spoken by the late Sir Sean Connery, serve as the audience’s first introduction to the world of Highlander, but they almost didn’t make it into the movie at all. Added to the movie at the last minute, at the insistence of the studio, Connery had already finished his time working on the movie and had filmed all of his scenes in a rushed, seven-day schedule.
As the filmmakers no longer had access to Connery on set, the actor had to record the lines in his bathroom at a Spanish villa he was staying in at the time. This, in turn, lent the lines their otherworldly echo.
Come and learn some other immortal secrets when Christopher Lambert is called to the Gathering at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming in Adelaide (30 October – 1 November 2026) and Brisbane (6-8 November 2026).
