From the moment Pierre Morel’s Taken unlocked a very particular set of skills in Liam Neeson, the actor’s résumé has been a roller-coaster ride of triumphant highs (The Grey) and disappointing lows (Takens 2 and 3). But a patchy record has in no way cooled Neeson’s interest in the action genre, as he’ll soon be back, back, back, as an unassuming insurance salesman for The Commuter.
Pitched as North by Northwest meets Strangers on a Train, Jaume Collet-Serra’s high-speed thriller was originally slated for a release in October, but we now have confirmation that The Commuter‘s journey won’t begin in earnest until January 12th, 2018. That’s a date it currently shares with Paramount’s animated flick Sherlock Gnomes, White Boy Rick and The Maze Runner: The Death Cure, which was hit with a delay of its own following Dylan O’Brien’s serious set accident. Thankfully, O’Brien made a full recovery, and The Death Cure is currently lensing ahead of its bow early next year.
And though a January release date isn’t one to inspire confidence, we know that The Commuter will see Liam Neeson star opposite Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Jonathan Banks as “an insurance salesman in the midst of his daily commute who is forced by a mysterious stranger (Farmiga) to uncover the identity of a passenger before the train’s last stop.”
If that premise evokes memories of Non-Stop or Unknown or Run All Night, it should; The Commuter heralds the fourth collaboration between Liam Neeson and writer-director Jaume Collet-Serra, who directs from a script penned by Philip de Blasi and Byron Willinger. Forget October; January 12th, 2018 is the new date for your diaries when it comes to Neeson’s latest action vehicle.
