Liam Neeson is 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 the Taken trilogy, 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 upcoming The Naked Gun reboot), Neeson is known more so now for his action abilities. This is still true in the 2020s, as he’s headlined action/thrillers Honest Thief, The Marksman, The Ice Road, Blacklight, Memory, Retribution, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, and Absolution.

Ice Road: Vengeance is 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 June 27, 2025, just days after the first Ice Road: Vengeance trailer debuted.

You may not have even known about this new sequel being made, much less that Ice Road: Vengeance is 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: Vengeance is actually Liam Neeson’s first sequel in over a decade. He has not been in a sequel since 2014 when Taken 3 came out and served as the conclusion of his time as Bryan Mills.

The lack of sequels Neeson made after Taken 3 and before Ice Road 2 is not entirely due to interest being non-existent for them. Taken 3‘s box office suggests audiences would be interested in another, but Taken 4 has not moved into development. Sequels to his other films, like Non-Stop or Run All Night 2, were discussed but never materialized.

Even as Neeson has now broken his sequel drought with Ice Road: Vengeance, it’s notable how few “proper” sequels he’s made. He’s done two Taken sequels and now Ice Road 2 where he returned as the lead character, but the rest of his franchise appearances came under different circumstances.

When Neeson made two Chronicles of Narnia sequels, he only had to provide the voice of Aslan. The returns he made in Star Wars as Qui-Gon Jinn and The Dark Knight Rises as Ra’s al Ghul were only cameos. So, they are not the type of major sequel roles Neeson had with the Taken franchise and finds himself with again in Ice 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 after Ice Road: Vengeance, as he doesn’t have any immediately coming out.

Perhaps The Naked Gun will launch a new franchise for him soon, though. But if you don’t want to wait for another Liam Neeson sequel, you can watch Ice Road: Vengeance at home right now and see a film Screen Rant‘s Ben Gibbons called “an overall excellent action film, with all the qualities of a Hollywood blockbuster” in his Ice Road 2 review.