It was Pierre Morel’s hardboiled Taken in 2008 that unearthed a very particular set of skills from one Liam Neeson – skills that made him a dream for studio executives who went on to typecast the Oscar-winner as the gruff, one-man army on a mission to kill everyone and anyone that stood in his path.
Of course, there have been times when Neeson has taken time off from pummelling baddies and saving the world to focus on more character-driven material (see: Silence and the poignant, heartbreaking A Monster Calls), but Variety is reporting that the actor is ready to dip his toe back into the action genre for Hard Powder, a revenge thriller in which he’ll play the role of an upright snowplow driver.
Hans Petter Moland is directing, while screenwriter Frank Baldwin has been tasked with adapting the Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance. From the fleeting logline relayed by Variety, Hard Powder appears to be right in Neeson’s wheelhouse. His character? Nels, an “upright snowplow driver in a glitzy Colorado ski town whose life is turned upside down when his son is murdered by the powerful local drug kingpin. He then seeks to dismantle the cartel, but his vengeful crusade sparks a turf war between a Viking gangster and a Native American mafia boss.” Cue the gruff one-liners and explosive action scenes.
Aside from Hard Powder, Neeson has also lined up roles in The Commuter and The Trainer, and will soon find himself embroiled in Watergate and the ensuing political fallout for Peter Landesman’s Felt. Expect that one to hit theaters before the year’s end.
