Liam Neeson Reuniting With Marlowe Director For Prison Escape Thriller The Riker's Ghost
It's easy for Liam Neeson's post-"Taken" movies to start blurring together if you're not paying close attention. Are we talking about the film where he plays a vengeful snowplow driver or the one where he plays a heroic ice road trucker? Does he play a hitman dealing with dementia or a potential terrorist with amnesia? Is he fighting bad guys on a plane or on a train? Has a member of his family been kidnapped or has he himself been kidnapped (or both)? Is he playing a Jesuit priest who has renounced his religion after trying to spread Catholic Christianity across Edo-era Japan, no longer willing to allow others to suffer so that he might cling to his personal faith?
Okay, you probably won't mix that one up with any other Neeson movies, but the point still stands.
In all seriousness, it's hard to fault Neeson too much for taking on so many similar movies. The man knows "grizzled antihero seeks redemption" action-thrillers are his bread-and-butter these days, and there's clearly an audience that enjoys them. He also takes the time to branch out and lend his talents to less-commercial or more off-kilter ventures in between them, from the Coen Brothers' "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" to Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's cancer drama "Ordinary Love." Even Neeson's reunion with his "Michael Collins" director Neil Jordan on 2023's "Marlowe" sees him swapping out his figurative action star hat for a literal one more befitting of an archetypal brooding noir detective.
Up next, Neeson and Jordan will reunite for another type of classic Hollywood genre movie altogether: the prison escape flick. Here's what we know so far about their latest project, "The Riker's Ghost."
What is The Riker's Ghost about?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Riker's Ghost' will see [Liam] Neeson play a convict set for release from prison who, when his lawyer is kidnapped, is forced to break out a terrorist." It's safe to assume the title is a nod to Rikers Island, which houses New York City's largest and most notorious jail, although details beyond that are being kept under lock and key for the time being, including what role — if any — the island plays in the film's story. Neil Jordan did, however, release an official statement, hyping the thriller as an unconventional spin on the prison escape sub-genre:
"This is a unique take on the prison escape. A bare-knuckle ride from incarceration to freedom, by someone who just wants to finish his term. The reluctant escapee will be played by Liam Neeson, and I can't wait to explore this character with him."
Jordan's line about the movie's protagonist being someone who "just wants to finish his term" certainly makes the character sound like your average old-man-Neeson antihero, which isn't necessarily a bad thing ... assuming you haven't already tired of watching Neeson play this specific archetype over and over with a straight face. Those who have can instead take comfort in knowing the actor intends to follow his perplexing cameo as himself on the TV series "Atlanta" with what's shaping up to be another peculiar and meta-comedic undertaking in the form of Akiva Schaffer's "Naked Gun" reboot.
The Riker's Ghost cast and crew
Neil Jordan will direct "The Riker's Ghost" from a script he co-wrote with Sean O'Keefe ("Spenser Confidential") and Brian Rudnick ("American Fighter"), with Liam Neeson the only announced cast member at the time of writing. Producers on the film include Neeson's "Unknown" and "Non-Stop" producer Steve Richards, and Alan Moloney, who also produced "Marlowe." Jake Katofsky and Susan Mullen will co-produce, as will Rupert Wyatt — himself no stranger to films involving prison escapes, having directed both "The Escapist" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."
"Marlowe," as THR notes, gives Neeson 100 films under his belt after 45 years of movie acting, which is quite an achievement in and of itself. With roles to his name in Sam Raimi superhero horror movies, Christopher Nolan Batman films, "Star Wars" films, and esteemed period pieces by auteurs such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Ridley Scott (plus that time Neeson got slapped around by a giant, haunted, naked statue), all in the years leading up to his old man action movie era, it will certainly be interesting to see where the actor's career goes from here.