The HIGHLANDER Reboot — What we Know |

The Highlander Reboot — What we Know

Highlander was one of my favourite films of the 1980s. My group of friends watched it countless times. The story was epic, the style unique, and the tension gripping. Now, there is a reboot on the horizon, and I’m excited to share with you, on Life After Gateway, what we know about it so far.

Highlander premiered in 1986. It was an interesting story: living among us are a very small number of people who are immortal. The only way to kill one of them is through beheading. Connor MacLeod, born in Scotland in the 16th Century, is injured on a battlefield but doesn’t die. His clanmates/family believe him to be cursed, and he is banished. Later, Connor is befriended by mentor Ramirez, another immortal, who teaches him about their lives and how to survive. Killing another immortal results in “The Quickening,” a phenomenon which results in the victor gaining power. Eventually, however, there will be only two remaining … and then only ONE. Connor MacLeod wants to be that one, but in order to survive, he must first defeat the most powerful immortal on Earth: The Kurgan.

The original featured Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown.

Now comes news that the movie is being remade by Chad Stahleski, of John Wick fame. I am highly optimistic about this. The original style and aesthetic was a marvel (with music by Queen!), and Stahelski has shown real skill at creating both remarkable visuals and gripping action. Here’s the cast as we know it today:

Connor MacLeod — Henry Cavill

Ramirez — Russell Crowe

The Kurgan — Dave Bautista

Heather MacLeod — Karen Gillan

Directed by — Chad Stahelski

What do you think of this project? Are you excited about it? Or do you think Highlander should be left alone?

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 31 August 2025

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007