Liam Neesonis back in action hero mode with a new movie,Ice Road: Vengeance, and its a surprising first for him in over a decade. The actor made a name for himself in the action genre thanks to theTakentrilogy, and he has found a great deal of success in recent years by using his particular set of skills to take down bad guys.
While he still mixes in the occasional dramatic performance, and the rare comedic one (as is the case with his upcomingThe Naked Gunreboot),Neeson is known more so now for his action abilities. This is still true in the 2020s, as he’s headlined action/thrillersHonest Thief,The Marksman,The Ice Road,Blacklight,Memory,Retribution, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, andAbsolution.
Ice Road: Vengeanceis another action movie for Neeson, serving as a sequel to his 2021 film that found great success on streaming. The new film quietly hit theaters on July 03, 2025, just days after thefirstIce Road: Vengeancetrailerdebuted.
You may not have even known about this new sequel being made, much less thatIce Road: Vengeanceis already released on digital. Yet, the film’s debut is still a major milestone for Neeson’s career.
Liam Neeson Now Has His First Sequel In 11 Years
He’s Steered Clear Of Franchises Since Taken
Despite his propensity for making action movies and his stardom,Ice Road: Vengeanceis actually Liam Neeson’s first sequel in over a decade.He has not been in a sequel since 2014 whenTaken 3came outand served as the conclusion of his time as Bryan Mills.
The lack of sequels Neeson made afterTaken 3and beforeIce Road 2is not entirely due to interest being non-existent for them.Taken 3’s box office suggests audiences would be interested in another, butTaken 4has not moved into development. Sequels to his other films, likeNon-StoporRun All Night 2, were discussed but never materialized.
Even as Neeson has now broken his sequel drought withIce Road: Vengeance,it’s notable how few “proper” sequels he’s made. He’s done twoTakensequels and nowIce Road 2where he returned as the lead character, but the rest of his franchise appearances came under different circumstances.
18%
35%
When Neeson made twoChronicles of Narniasequels, he only had to provide the voice of Aslan. The returns he made inStar Warsas Qui-Gon Jinn andThe Dark Knight Risesas Ra’s al Ghul were only cameos. So, they are not the type of major sequel roles Neeson had with theTakenfranchise and finds himself with again inIce Road: Vengeance.
This makes his new movie only the third sequel he’s done with a leading role, with it marking his sixth sequel role overall. Only time will tell whether Liam Neeson goes on another long sequel gap afterIce Road: Vengeance, as he doesn’t have any immediately coming out.
PerhapsThe Naked Gunwill launch a new franchise for him soon, though. But if you don’t want to wait for another Liam Neeson sequel, you can watchIce Road: Vengeanceat home right now and see a filmScreen Rant’s Ben Gibbons called “an overall excellent action film, with all the qualities of a Hollywood blockbuster” in hisIce Road 2review.
