Everyone knows the mongoose is one of nature’s slipperiest animals. Not only can they run at 20 mph, but they’re also resistant to snake venom! If honey badgers and mongooses ever teamed up, we’d be in big trouble. Why all this talk about fast-moving mammals? One of Hollywood’s most devious action stars, Liam Neeson, will star in a cross-country car chase movie, Mongoose, for Amazon. See, it all makes sense.
Mongoose quietly made the rounds at Cannes, with Amazon Prime Video pre-purchasing most of the international rights in a deal nearing $20M.According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Liam Neeson plays Ryan “Fang” Flanagan in Mongoose, “a war hero who, accused of a crime he didn’t commit and with nothing to lose, leads police on an epic televised cross-country car chase, helped by members of his former Special Forces Army battalion and closely monitored by a fascinated public rooting for his safe getaway.”
Audiences can expect Mongoose to be fast-paced and nail-biting, with veteran stunt performer Mark Vanselow in the director’s chair. Vanselow wears many hats in Hollywood as an action sequence director, action designer, stunt coordinator, and stuntman. He’s worked on films like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Ice Road, and more. Reckoning scribe Thomspon Evans is in charge of the screenplay.
“We are so very fortunate to be able to make another picture with the extraordinary Liam Neeson and the enormously talented Mark Vanselow. We look forward to another creative journey with our partners and friends,” said Code Entertainment’s Al Corley and Bart Rosenblatt.
One of Liam Neeson’s upcoming film projects is a reboot of The Naked Gun. Neeson leads the comedy as Frank Drebin Jr., with Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, and Cody Rhodes also starring. Speaking with THR, Neeson told the outlet why he’s keen to star in the comedic role.
“It’s funny because right before Christmas, my sons and I were looking through the Academy screeners and trying to find something silly, some silly, stupid movie that we could giggle at,” Neeson explained. “There was none, of course, as they were all very heavy and international. I mean, brilliant movies but all very heavy. When Seth MacFarlane approached me about it — this was about two years ago, now — I thought, yeah, I guess I could do that as long as I play it dead seriously and not try and imitate Mr. Leslie Nielsen. He was wonderful. Akiva Schaffer is directing it and he’s from the [Saturday Night Live] world. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good script, and there’s a few laugh out loud moments in it.”
As Neeson mentioned, Akiva Schaffer is set to direct The Naked Gun reboot, which Dan Gregor and Doug Mand will script.