These days, it’s surprising when Liam Neeson signs on to a project that *won’t *require him to run around with guns or punch people / wolves / windows. Keep your shock and surprise firmly in check, then, because a new possible gig, Gang Story, will see him firmly in action-man mode.
Safe House director Daniel Espinosa is attached to direct the movie for Thunder Road. If it all comes together, the film will serve as a remake of 2011 French thriller Les Lyonnais.
Neeson would star as an aging gangster looking to put his life of crime in the rear-view mirror and settle into a healthily legal retirement. But because things can never be quite that easy for crime lords – after all, we wouldn’t want to watch two hours of Neeson quietly reading a Tom Clancy novel or playing golf – an old friend comes to him seeking help, which naturally leads to the running and the punching and the kicking and the violence.
Espinosa is set to make Child 44 with Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace next, so Gang Story will have to wait a while. That’ll likely suit Neeson’s crammed schedule just fine, as he has a wealth of projects still to complete. He’s splitting his time between gritty drama with A Walk Among The Tombstones, action such as Run All Night, comedy on Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways To Die In The West and an assortment of animated fare, which will probably mean fewer guns. Unless he brings some into the recording booth just to feel comfortable.