It’s been more than one year since I first reported Summit Entertainment’s intention to remake/re-imagine/reinvigorate the Highlander franchise, now, they’ve finally confirmed what regular readers already knew.

Yes, Summit Entertainment are finally rebooting Highlander!

According to Summit, “Fast and Furious” and “Tokyo Drift” director Justin Lin is attached to helm the picture, in which a race of immortals walk the Earth throughout the centuries and fight to the death. The protagonist (Connor Macleod) was played by Christopher Lambert in the original 1986 version with Sean Connery playing mentor and fellow immortal, Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez. Clancy Brown also starred as the fantastically wicked (and incredibly cheesy) barbarian – The Kurgan.

Neal H. Moritz is set to produce the picture, which will likely hit theaters at the back end of 2010/Spring 2011. According to the press release:

Summit’s film will expand on the original HIGHLANDER’s core mythology of immortals battling among us, hunting each other through the ages by tapping its newly minted creative team to take its re-imagination to new heights. Plans call for the re-imagination to spur a new franchise for the studio.

“We are privileged to have this amazing opportunity to reinvent one of the great franchises,” said Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairman of Summit Entertainment. “Neal and Justin have proven more than once that they can deliver an entertaining and exciting blockbuster.”

So far there is no word yet who will be donning the tartan of clan Macleod, although there were rumors early last year that Kevin McKidd (Rome, Dog Soldiers) had been approached to take on the role. Who would you like to see wearing the kilt?

The big screen adaptation of The Beatles’ popular YELLOW SUBMARINE has found itself in choppy waters following what is being described as “cost cutting measures” by Walt Disney Studios. The studio, which recently spent $4 billion in an ongoing merger with Marvel Comics, is pulling the plug on ImageMovers Digital – the production company behind the long awaited project.

ImageMovers, which is wholly run by director Robert Zemeckis, is behind recent motion-capture films “The Polar Express“, “Beowulf” and “A Christmas Carol“, the technology behind these films was intended to be used to bring The Beatles’ psychedelic adventure to life. The move to close ImageMovers Digital will result in 450 job losses in the industry.

It is thought that the move is the result of disappointing feedback from A Christmas Carol, whose animation appeared dated in the wake of James Cameron’s AVATAR. It is also thought that Disney’s pursuit of 3D technology (ala Alice in Wonderland) has rendered their use for the studio obsolete.

ImageMovers is currently completing production on “Mars Needs Moms,” which the studio is hoping to release in March 2011. The move however, puts into question the fate of Yellow Submarine, a project first reported here on FilmShaft back in August last year.

While Disney have said that they’re hoping to draft a deal with Zemeckis and his IMD partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey in order to bring Submarine to the big screen, no such deal has yet materialised. Should Disney go ahead with production, it is likely we will be seeing a 3D version of the film rather than the mo-cap technology originally intended for use.