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The Highlander reboot is wasting no time while Henry Cavill rehabs from a training accident.

Deadline has confirmed WWE wrestler Drew Mcintyre has joined the cast. McIntyre, whose ring attire includes a kilt and a claymore, will play Angus, Conor McLeod’s brother.

Angus is a vital part of the story, originally played by legendary character actor James Cosmo. He’s one of the reasons Connor joins the battle where he’s killed for the first time and their relationship is one of the drivers for Connor’s initial journey out into the world. It’s a small role but a pivotal one, perfect for someone like McIntyre who is reading himself into his new profession. His previous acting experience was a guest turn in the surprisingly fun The Killer’s Game. The star of that movie, fellow (now retired) pro wrestler Dave Bautista, will be playing the villain here, an immortal known as The Kurgan.

As an aside, it’s worth noting McIntyre has physical presence for days and more than enough dramatic talent to back it up.  He’s very funny and has no problem balancing darkness with that. The man faced off with musician turned wrestler Jelly Roll a while back and not only did a great job of making him look good but delivered the beautiful ‘TONIGHT! THE MUSIC *DIES*!’ as the match’s opening taunt.

And on top of that, Jeremy Irons is joining the cast as the leader of The Watchers, a human organisation who have existed for centuries to monitor the Immortals and their impact on the world. By itself that sounds fun, but the context makes it even more interesting.

The Watchers were a major part of the very good, very weird Highlander TV series. The show explored the idea that Watchers are assigned Immortals to monitor for their whole lives and that the organisation keeps a constant running track of who has appeared, who has been killed and by whom and the mythical Prize. Joe Dawson played by Jim Byrnes and Charlie DeSalvo played by genre great Philip Akin especially were major parts of the show.

That’s why I think this story is being slightly misreported. It’s not that the Watchers are antagonists, if anything they’re neutral pacifists. But they are aware of the Immortals, and the Immortals are aware of them. It’s a very smart move adding them in to the reboot as it honours both versions of the story and gives a welcome extra perspective. While I’m concerned that they may be played as villains, I’m hopeful they won’t. This team seem to know what they’re doing.

One last note. It is just possible that this is an elaborate double blind. One of the other major characters introduced in the TV show was Methos, the oldest Immortal in history. Played by Peter Wingfield, Methos was a 5,000-year-old Immortal with a very dark past and a constant, daily choice to not be that man anymore. Brutal, playful and conflicted he’s a great character and one that Irons would fit like a glove. And it would make perfect sense for him to be hiding in plain sight, running the organisation that monitors every threat to his existence…

That’s a fun theory but for now the facts we know are that Irons is playing the head of the Watchers and that sounds like it’s going to be big fun.

The movie is expected to enter production in early 2026 once star Henry Cavill recovers from a training injury. John Wick’s Chad Stahleski is directing, and the script is from Michael Finch who has 2010’s fun Predators and John Wick Chapter 4 on his resume among others. Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe headline, along with Bautista, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillen, Djimon Hounsou and McIntyre. If you’re interested in the TV show it’s available on desk for relatively cheap prices given how much of it there is