When Does "Highlander" (1986) Take Place?
"Highlander" is a fantasy film written by Gregory Widen with Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson and released March 7th, 1986.
It takes place in the year:
We know this because when Brenda Wyatt comes looking for Connor MacLeod, who she knows as Russell Nash, when referring to something that has just recently happened, she says, "What can you tell me about a seven-foot lunatic hacking away with a broadsword at one o'clock in the morning, New York City, 1985?"
1985 AD
We know this because when Brenda Wyatt comes looking for Connor MacLeod, who she knows as Russell Nash, when referring to something that has just recently happened, she says, "What can you tell me about a seven-foot lunatic hacking away with a broadsword at one o'clock in the morning, New York City, 1985?"
The hallmark of the Highlander series is major flashbacks to historical periods:
In the very first flashback, a small army is marching out of a small Scottish village and the priest leading the column loudly declares, "In this year of our lord, 1536, bring victory to the clan MacLeod!" So we know the earliest point of our story shown on screen is in 1536 AD.
The following two flashbacks take place that night and on the very next day.
In the fourth flashback, Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez meets Connor and says, "You are Connor MacLeod, wounded in battle and driven from your village of Glenfinnan 5 years ago." So the year at this point is 1541 AD.
1536 + 5 = 1541.
Another quick flashback gives backstory to Connor's assistant, Rachel Ellenstein. It is not specifically dated but it must be during World War II because of the Nazi swastika on the solider's armband. So that's sometime from 1939 AD to 1945 AD.
A humorous flashback is introduced verbally as happening in 1783 AD just before the viewers are treated to it.
It is chronologically the earliest film in the Highlander universe (the first chronological film to feature Connor MacLeod) and can be watched at its timeline point, after the TV show "Highlander: The Series” (1992) as an extended flashback, or entirely separately.
