Will He Suit Up Again? Liam Neeson Teases Return in Sam Raimi’s Superhero Sequel

As Sam Raimi’s Darkman sequel gathers momentum, Liam Neeson says he hasn’t been contacted to return, casting doubt on the original antihero’s comeback.

Darkman is back in the conversation, which naturally leads to one question: is Liam Neeson returning to the foam-and-bandages life? He answered that this week, and it is very much a hurry-up-and-wait situation.

So... is Liam Neeson back as Darkman?

Short version: there have been zero talks. Neeson says no one has reached out about the newly announced sequel, and he has not spoken with Sam Raimi about it. At the time he was asked, he had not even clocked that this new movie is being positioned as a direct follow-up to the original film.

That said, he is absolutely open to it and curious what a modern Darkman might look like if he and Raimi teamed up again.

'I'd love to work with Sam.'

For what it is worth, Neeson also pointed out the franchise already continued without him once upon a time: two direct-to-video sequels followed the 1990 movie, and he did not appear in those.

Where the new movie stands

• Raimi said in late January that the script is finished.
• His company, Ghost House Pictures, is backing the project.
• This new film is planned as a direct continuation of the first Darkman.
• Story specifics are locked down for now.
• Neeson's involvement remains up in the air.

Quick refresher: what is Darkman again?

Raimi's 1990 original starred Neeson as Dr. Peyton Westlake, a scientist whose life goes to hell after an attack tied to corruption his girlfriend uncovers involving a powerful real estate developer. Westlake survives, horribly burned, and undergoes an experimental treatment that kills his ability to feel pain and amps up his strength, setting him on a revenge path behind ever-shifting synthetic faces.

Two sequels arrived later without Neeson, straight to video, and that seemed like the end of it. Now Raimi is dusting off the wraps for a proper follow-up to the first film. Whether Neeson is under them again is the open question.

Translation: the movie is real, the script exists, and Neeson is game if they call. Your move, Raimi.