Though it feels like ancient history now, back in June our own Drew McWeeney broke the news that Liam Neeson was spotted filming a scene on the New York set of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises”, though the studio of course declined to comment at the time.
Well now they don’t have to, as according to Neeson’s career bio in the press notes for “Wrath of the Titans” (in which Neeson reprises his role as Zeus), he is clearly listed as a co-star in the upcoming Christopher Nolan “Batman” sequel. Here’s the text, as spotted by Coming Soon:
“Neeson next appears in Peter Berg’s actioner ‘Battleship,’ and he also will be seen in Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated action thriller ‘The Dark Knight Rises.'”
Since Neeson’s character Ra’s Al Ghul was dispatched at the end of “Batman Begins”, the speculation is that he’ll merely be present in one or more flashback sequences in “Rises”, though the extent of the character’s involvement in the storyline is unknown at this point (“Battleship” cast member Josh Pence reportedly plays a younger version of Ra’s in flashbacks that take place 30 years prior to the events in the first movie).
All of that said, back in January Neeson himself was quoted as saying he’d been on the “Rises” set for “maybe and hour and a half” and that even he had no idea what the context of Ra’s appearance was (oh, what a tangled web we weave…), so it’s not like this confirmation comes as some huge surprise. But still, it is confirmation. In writing.
In any case, just remember who broke the news first…like nine months ago.