AceShowbiz -

It's a project that has been dealt with a double whammy over the past year, losing both filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and actor Ryan Reynolds, the former departing the director's chair over creative differences with studio Summit Entertainment and the latter dropping out as the lead star. But the reboot of the original "Highlander" adventure fantasy film will continue as planned, with Cedric Nicolas-Troyan as its new director.

Nicolas-Troyan will make his feature film directorial debut, a job he got after patiently working for years as a visual effects supervisor and most recently as a second unit director on the upcoming 2014 fantasy thriller "Maleficent" starring Angelina Jolie. Among his biggest achievements is an Oscar nomination for his work on "Snow White and the Huntsman" for which he also served as second unit director.

Production of the reboot will be based on a script by "Iron Man" writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, a take that Summit is reportedly happy about and intent to move forward with as it is carved closely with the 1986 original that stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. Lambert starred as Connor MacLeod, the immortal title character who, after years of battling with other swordsmen, is forced to confront brutal barbarian Klugan played by Clancy Brown.

"For me, it all comes down to that first movie, but there are great themes in the show," said Nicolas-Troyan. "It's the rare cross-genre concept that has elements of the Western, time travel, fantasy, action, contemporary. There are universal themes, but of course you need to provide the answers like the first film did."