Doctor Who and Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran Karen Gillan is adding another major franchise to her resume, with this one being the most closely tied to her heritage yet. In August, it was announced that the actress would star in the Highlander reboot as Heather, the mortal wife of Cavill’s character, Connor MacLeod. Just like in the original movie, these new versions of Connor and Heather will both hail from Scotland, and even better, Gillan’s story about landing her role in Highlander is extremely Scottish.
Gillan detailed the story behind how she boarded Highlander while speaking with BASIC Magazine. Since she was born in Inverness, a city resting in the Scottish Highlands, in 1987, two years after the release of the original Highlander, she welcomed the opportunity to come aboard the reboot, explaining:
Ever since I heard about the reboot of Highlander, I wanted to be in it—because I’m a Highlander! When would that opportunity ever come again? There are so few Highland Scottish roles anyway, but this is a classic and a beloved film I’m honored to be involved in. I got word from the director, who also directed the John Wick films, which I love so much. That was one of the most exciting parts of the project—that someone as good as him is going to take this film and make it even better.
From playing Nebula and Ruby Roundhouse in the MCU and newer Jumanji movies, respectively, to leading the Netflix subscription-exclusive movie Gunpowder Milkshake a few years back, Karen Gillan has accumulated a lot of action experience in Hollywood. I’m hoping Highlander will allow her to showcase more of that side of herself rather than relegate Heather to the sidelines, and if Chad Stahelski specifically sought Gillan out, then the chances of that seem strong. So she got her wish to star in Highlander and bring some proper Scottish Highland representation to the project.
But wait, it doesn’t end there. Right before Karen Gillan met with Chad Stahelski about Highlander, she’d just partaken in one of the most Scottish activities there is. As she recalled:
I sat down with him, and I had just come from a whisky tasting, which is maybe the most Scottish thing I’ve ever done in my life. We got on great and, luckily, I was offered the part. Filming near my hometown is going to be a beautiful full-circle moment.
Highlander was supposed to begin filming around the time of this writing, but was pushed back to early 2026 after Henry Cavill injured himself during preproduction. He and Karen Gillan are joined in the reboot by Russell Crowe as Ramirez, Dave Bautista as The Kurgan, and Jeremy Irons as the leader of The Watchers, as well as Djimon Hounsou, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillan, Max Zhang and Drew McIntyre. Along with Chad Stahelski sitting in the director’s chair, Michael Finch wrote the script.
Highlander was originally going to be released by Lionsgate, but now Amazon-MGM has taken over the reboot. It doesn’t have an official release date yet, but you’re welcome to watch Karen Gillan’s latest movie, The Life of Chuck, on digital and physical home media.