Key Insights

• Liam Neeson’s return to fantasy marks a significant shift after a decade away from the genre.
• The Splendid Thing features a unique blend of drama, romance, and fantasy elements.
• Matthew Modine not only stars but also directs the film, adding depth to the project.
• Surreal elements in the plot evoke comparisons to classic films like Midnight in Paris.

Liam Neeson is punching up his resume with a long-awaited genre return.

The two-fisted star of the Taken series made an early impression in fantasy-leaning films like Excalibur and Krull, later taking a long break from such unearthly stories to become an Oscar-nominated star of more grounded prestige films before circling back to the fantastic with roles in The Chronicles of Narnia and Clash of the Titans. 2016 marked Neeson’s last contribution to fantasy, a role as the titular monster in A Monster Calls.

But the fantastical now beckons to Neeson once again, as he is set to end his ten-year vacation from the genre with The Splendid Thing, a movie described as also having drama and romantic comedy elements (via Variety). Matthew Modine is starring in the lead and directing, with John Cleese also part of the cast. The plot concerns a blocked writer who finds himself beset by characters from his own previous novels, including a “Gatsby”-like figure played by Neeson, who puts his creator in the hospital during a physical altercation.

Modine plays the writer, named “Declan King” in a probable nod to Stephen King, who according to the logline “has lost his focus and has been struggling to complete his latest novel since his wife left him.” King’s agent cooks up a European trip meant to get his client’s creative juices flowing again, but things are soon complicated by surreal happenings that seem to vaguely recall Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. Cleese co-stars as a priest who is also the Grim Reaper.

Neeson and Modine previously appeared on the same cast-list in The Dark Knight Rises and Retribution. Neeson and Cleese have, surprisingly, never shared the screen before. The Splendid Thing’s star, director, and co-writer Modine hyped up his new fantasy project, saying in a statement, “I’m absolutely thrilled by the emotional reaction to this story and how it has led us to our incredible ensemble of actors. A phantasmic, comical story, an international cast, being filmed in one of the most romantic countries in the world! What could be better!?”

The cast also gets a shout-out from Carl Clifton of Hyde Park Int., the company taking The Splendid Thing to the Cannes market, while throwing out some bold comparisons. “The fantastic cast assembled for ‘The Splendid Thing’ is testament to this heart-warming, poignant and often hilarious script,” he said in a statement, adding, “Playing with notions of reality and fiction, it brings to mind so many beloved movies; from classics like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once.’”

More stars are currently negotiating to join Neeson, Cleese, and Modine in the cast of The Splendid Thing.