Liam Neeson, left, reportedly will play Gen. Douglas MacArthur, right, in an upcoming film produced by a South Korean studio. (Neeson via Jason Merritt/Getty Images; MacArthur via Army)
Liam Neeson’s Hollywood tough-guy bona fides already are beyond reproach: He’s been a Jedi master, he’s led the A-Team, he’s fought wolves, he even played an admiral in “Battleship” — the one where naval forces battled aliens and created collateral damage at movie box offices everywhere.
According to multiple entertainment-news reports, Neeson will again portray a high-ranking officer, only he’ll switch services and step back into history, playing Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the South Korean-produced “Operation Chromite.”
History buffs may recognize the title as the code name for the amphibious landing at Inchon in September 1950. The film reportedly will focus on South Korean soldiers who laid the groundwork for the assault.
It’s unclear how large a role Neeson will play as MacArthur, the invasion’s architect and the supreme commander of U.N. forces in the conflict’s early stages. The successful landing resulted in the recapture of Seoul from the North Koreans and would put the MacArthur-led coalition on the offensive until China’s entry into the war in late 1950. The general’s time in command would end a few months later.
The head of Taewon Entertainment told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that the film will begin production in September with a budget of around $12.5 million. Studio execs told Deadline.com they hoped to release the movie next year on or before June 25 — the date the Korean War began in 1950.
