Liam Neeson Action Sequel ‘Ice Road 2’ Heading To Amazon For Around $17M In Biggest Deal Thrashed Out At This Year’s Cannes Market So Far
EXCLUSIVE: The biggest deal thrashed out so far at this year’s Cannes market is nearing completion with Amazon Prime Video set to pre-buy international rights — excluding Germany — to Liam Neeson action sequel Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky in a pact pegged around $17M.
Deal isn’t done but is heading that way, we understand from market sources. Germany has sold in a separate multi-million dollar pact to a different buyer.
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The project will see the evergreen Neeson headed back to treacherous and frozen terrain, this time swapping out The Ice Road‘s harsh climbs of Northern Canada for the similarly inhospitable mountains of Nepal.
The Solution Entertainment Group is handling international sales. CAA Media Finance is repping U.S. rights. The Solution, CAA and Amazon all declined to comment.
In the sequel Neeson returns as ‘big-rig’ ice road driver Mike McCann who, honoring his late brother’s last wish, travels to Nepal to scatter his ashes on Mt. Everest. While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, McCann and his mountain guide encounter a group of Nepalese mercenaries and must fight not only to save themselves and the busload of innocent travelers, but also the local villagers’ homeland. Production is due to start in the first quarter of 2024 (meaning it should be removed from any bonding issues).
Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh, writer of Die Hard with a Vengeance, Armageddon and Jumanji, is also back in the saddle with Code Entertainment, ShivHans Pictures and Envision Media Arts producing.
As we revealed back in 2021, the original movie sold to Netflix in a record $18M EFM domestic deal and was also sold to a host of international distributors.
Code Entertainment and ShivHans Pictures is fully financing the sequel. Code’s Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt, and Eugene Musso will produce, along with Shivani Rawat of ShivHans, and Lee Nelson and David Tish of Envision Media Arts (EMA).
Jonathan Dana will executive-produce, with Julie Goldstein and Connor Flanagan of ShivHans, and Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel of The Solution. David Buelow of EMA will also executive-produce.
Yesterday we brought you news of the biggest deal to have gone down in Cannes on a festival title: Netflix’s $11M play for Todd Haynes’ May December.
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