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The trailer for Highlander: Endgame has a lot of supernatural elements that have never been in the series before, and were missing from the final film.

The things that aren't even close to the final movie:

  • Jacob Kell is described as a "supernatural enemy", which fits for all the magic stuff we see him do in the trailer, but not in the film where he's just like everyone else
  • Connor MacLeod slices his sword through Kell and he splits right down the middle, reforming into two separate people
  • Duncan and Connor emerge from some sort of mystic portal
  • A sword is thrown at Kell, and he stops it with telekinesis
  • Duncan and Connor are facing each other and their swords levitate from the ground into their hands.
  • Kell has Connor's head (his soul?) in a crystal ball, which he then shatters

Highlander: Endgame — Connor's head in a crystal ball

There's also some minor changes that seem more in line with the standard changes any film might experience between trailer and final cut.

I find this baffling because the tone of the final cut of the movie is pretty close to that of the earlier films, and it lacks any sort of supernatural magic besides the initial conceit of the Immortals. Kell is powerful, but he's also got the same abilities as any other Immortal. If they intended to match the tone all along, I can't understand why they would bother to shoot these scenes.

Why is the trailer for Highlander: Endgame so radically different from the final film?

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    I will give a 250 point bounty (or more) to anyone who is able to create an answer that satisfactorily cites credible, authoritative sources. The Wikipedia article in the existing answer is suspect and does not provide citations to any of its claims. My first bounty failed to attract any answers, so I am posting this bounty notice for any future visitors who believe they can create a properly sourced answer.
    – Thunderforge
    Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 5:59

1 Answer 1

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The Wikipedia article for Highlander: Endgame has an answer, however unsatisfactory. Emphasis added:

The trailers for the film feature several shots showing Kell using mystical abilities (such as stopping a sword in midair with some sort of force field, cloning himself and holding an orb with Connor's screaming head inside of it). Also, Connor and Duncan are shown emerging from some sort of portal. None of this footage made it into any released version of the film, and the footage is only seen in the trailer. No explanation for the nature of these scenes has ever been willingly released by the producers or film studio, although it has since been revealed that these shots were never intended for inclusion in any finished cut of the movie — they were shot exclusively for its trailer, instead. No mention of Kell's magical abilities exists in the online version of an early screenplay.

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    I remember watching this film in the theater when it came out. It really is as bad as its 11% RT rating. Still better than Highlander 2.
    – Bill the Lizard
    Commented Nov 23, 2016 at 2:08
  • Which Highlander 2? IIRC, there were two of them :P Truly, the Highlander franchise has had a rocky path after the first one.
    – Steve-O
    Commented Nov 23, 2016 at 3:13
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    I'm really skeptical of this Wikipedia article, since it doesn't cite sources. Who revealed it? What does it mean that it has never "been willingly" revealed? Where is the online version of an early screenplay? I think this answer needs more reliable sources. (I do agree about the movie was bad, but not as bad as Highlander 2 or Highlander: The Source)
    – Thunderforge
    Commented Nov 23, 2016 at 3:45
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    @Steve-O two of them? There can be only one!
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Nov 23, 2016 at 14:02
  • @BilltheLizard - Too bad they never made any Highlander sequels.
    – DVK
    Commented Nov 26, 2016 at 7:05

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