Last May it was reported that actor Liam Neeson would stake his claim in a role for a revenge thriller remaking director Hans Petter Molland’s 2014 film, In Order Of Disappearence (Kraftidioten). This week, word coming out of Berlinale confirms the film with Molland returning to the helm and cameras rolling in Banff, Alberta and other areas in Canada beginning in March.
Per Variety, Molland will direct Hard Powder which casts Neeson in the wryly comedic role of Nels, an upright snowplow driver who becomes the unlikely nemesis of two warring criminal organizations when his son is found dead, sparking his need for vengenace. Actor Stellan Skarsgård portrayed the lead role for the 2014 film which went on to earn a raft of subsequent wins and nominations in the festival circuit throughout Europe and the U.S., including winning Best Director at Austin. The film was picked up for North American release in August of 2016 by Magnet Releasing.
“Liam Neeson plays an ordinary man driven to extraordinary lengths, a hero in the mold of Clint Eastwood in ‘Unforgiven’ or Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard,’” Studiocanal said in a statement.
Building off his performances in “Taken” and “Non-Stop,” Neeson will give “a slightly more modern spin” to his “Hard Powder” character, “a touch of wry humor, like Eastwood saying, ‘Make my day,’” said Ron Halpern, Studiocanal EVP international production and acquisitions.
He added: “Bringing a new perspective to the lone underdog character was what attracted Liam Neeson from the very beginning.”
Moland will aim for a “cool tone and classic archetypes,” in line with “Get Shorty” and “Out of Sight,” Halpern said.
Neeson will be joned by Pulp Fiction producer Michael Shamberg and Studiocanal, latter who will fully finance. Studiocanal also has Neeson’s next pairing with Run All Night helmer Jaume Collet-Serra in The Commuter which arrives later this year.