Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Leaves 'Highlander' Remake

Remember that “Highlander” remake that literally nobody was crying out for, that may or may not be set to star everyone’s favorite alliterative actor Ryan Rodney Reynolds? Well, it looks like Summit is now going to be looking for a new director to shepherd the project. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Weeks Later”) had been on board for over a year (after departing another remake, “The Crow”) but has now left the project after battling with Summit over their views on the film.

Fresnadillo has had a somewhat tumultuous time since directing his last movie, “Intruders.” As well as his involvement with "The Crow" he was attached to direct a planned "Bioshock" movie with Gore Verbinski producing, but that also didn’t come to pass. His exit from "Highlander" is said to be amicable, but clearly the direction he wanted to take the project in differed from Summit’s plan. “I find the concept very interesting, immortality as a curse,” said Fresnadillo while promoting "Intruders." “We’re using the material of the original, but this is some kind of reboot, since the story could use a new approach,” he added. And that might be where the disagreements came from, because Deadline reports that Summit is set on staying fairly close to the 1986 original.

Fresnadillo wasn’t the first director attached to the project either, he replaced Justin Lin after the "Fast & Furious" franchise exploded and required his continued involvement. On the screenplay front, too, this remake seems to have been through the wringer. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (“Iron Man”) penned the first draft, only to have it rewritten by the Wibberleys (“National Treasure”), and the last we heard Melissa Rosenberg (“Twilight”) had overseen a draft. The latest iteration of the screenplay was in fact written by Noah Oppenheim (“The Maze Runner”). So much for there can be only one. [Deadline]