Liam Neeson shows no sign of slowing down his film run of butt-kicking badasses.
The Taken star will be reuniting with Cold Pursuit director Hans Petter Moland for a new crime-thriller titled Thug, a project from Sculptor Media and Electromagnetic Productions being presented at the Cannes market next week.
Written by Tony Gayton (Hell on Wheels, Murder by Numbers, Faster), Thug will see Neeson playing an ageing San Pedro gangster looking to reconnect with his estranged kids and make amends for past mistakes. Alas, the criminal underworld doesn’t intend to let him go that easily.
Deadline broke the news, reporting that the film will begin shooting in Los Angeles this October.
“We are excited to work with Liam again with whom we had an amazing experience personally, creatively and commercially on The Marksman,” Warren Goz, producer and CEO at Sculptor Media, said in a statement. “We’re also excited to work with Hans who is fast becoming recognized as one of the top action directors.”
Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland’s credits include Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd-starring 2014 comedy-thriller In Order of Disappearance (which he remade with Cold Pursuit), SkarsgÃ¥rd and Lena Headey-starring 2000 drama Aberdeen, and 2016 crime-drama Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith, the third film in the Department Q series.
Neeson’s latest thriller, Memory, is currently on its worldwide release rollout. The actor’s line-up of upcoming thrillers includes Marlowe, directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Michael Collins); Retribution, directed by Nimród Antal (Predators, Vacancy); and In the Land of Saints and Sinners, reuniting him with The Marksman helmer Robert Lorenz.
