Liam Neeson leads the Retribution cast with famous child actors, award-winning Broadway stars, and an ‘80s icon in supporting roles. This is the latest in a long line of action movies starring Neeson. A remake of the 2015 Spanish thriller El Desconocido, Retribution revolves around a banker who gets into his car with his kids and learns that the car has been rigged with bombs that will explode if anyone leaves their seat or the car is stopped. The mysterious assailant, who calls the banker on a phone he left in the car, will deactivate the bombs if he transfers a large sum of money into his account.
Set to be released on VOD on August 24, the Hollywood remake of Retribution is directed by Nimród Antal, the filmmaker behind Predators, Metallica: Through the Never, and two episodes of Stranger Things. The screenplay for the remake, adapted from Alberto Marini’s original script, was penned by The Outsider’s Andrew Baldwin and FBI: Most Wanted writer Chris Salmanpour. Neeson leads the Retribution cast as an everyman thrust into a high-stakes life-or-death situation. The supporting cast of the Retribution remake is rounded out with a young star from the Avatar franchise, a two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner, and a two-time Tony Award nominee.
Liam Neeson As Matt Turner
Liam Neeson leads the Retribution cast in the role of Matt Turner, a banker held hostage in a car full of explosives. Neeson started out as a traditional dramatic actor with roles like Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List (which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor), the title role in the biopic Michael Collins, and Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Les Misérables. He transitioned into action-hero roles with his turn as Bryan Mills in Taken. Neeson has also played blockbuster roles like scene-stealing Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars franchise, Zeus in Clash of the Titans, and the voice of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia movies.
Jack Champion
Jack Champion has an unannounced role in Retribution, presumably Matt’s son who’s trapped in the car with him. Champion is best known for his recurring role as Miles “Spider” Socorro in Avatar: The Way of Water, Colonel Quaritch’s son raised on Pandora, who is also a close friend of Jake and Neytiri’s kids. He’s also known for playing Chad Meeks-Martin’s college roommate Ethan Landry in Scream VI. Champion made his film debut in 2018 with the role of Kevin in the horror comedy The Night Sitter and had a small role in Avengers: Endgame as a kid on a bike questioned by a baffled Scott Lang.
Lilly Aspell
Lilly Aspell’s undisclosed role in the Retribution cast is likely to be Matt’s daughter, stuck in the car with him. Aspell is best known for playing young Diana Prince in the flashback sequences of the Wonder Woman movies. She reprised the role in animated form in the series DC Super Hero Girls in season 1, episode 46, “#AwesomeAuntAntiope.” Aspell is also known for her starring roles as Gretel in the made-for-TV fantasy comedy movie Hansel & Gretel: After Ever After and Ray and Samantha’s daughter Megan in the Netflix sci-fi thriller Extinction. She also had a small role as a paper girl in Holmes & Watson.
Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine has an undisclosed role in the Retribution cast. Modine got his breakout in the 1980s with the role of U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. “Joker” Davis in Stanley Kubrick’s darkly comedic war movie Full Metal Jacket. Modine is best known to modern audiences for his role as Dr. Martin Brenner, one of the main villains in the Netflix sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. The actor has also played FBI Agent Mike Downey in Married to the Mob, Dr. Ralph Wyman in Short Cuts, Dr. Don Francis in And the Band Played On, and Commissioner Gordon’s second-in-command, Peter Foley, in The Dark Knight Rises.
Embeth Davidtz
An undisclosed supporting role in Retribution is played by Embeth Davidtz. Davidtz is best known for playing Miss Honey, the sweet-natured teacher who adopts the title character, in Matilda. She also played Mary Crawford in the 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield Park, Ash Williams’ love interest Sheila in the Evil Dead threequel Army of Darkness, and Peter Parker’s late mother Mary in the flashback sequences of The Amazing Spider-Man films. Davidtz is also known for her regular TV roles as Rebecca Pryce in Mad Men, Sonia Kovitzky in Ray Donovan, and Paige Kessler in The Morning Show. Davidtz previously co-starred with Neeson when she played Helen Hirsch in Schindler’s List.
Arian Moayed
Arian Moayed also appears in the Retribution cast. He is best known for playing Kendall Roy’s third-oldest friend, Stewy Hosseini, in HBO’s satirical drama series Succession (for which he was nominated for an Emmy in 2022). Moayed is also known for his role as Agent Cleary of Damage Control in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel. As a stage actor on Broadway, Moayed has received two Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performances as Musa in a 2011 production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and Torvald Helmer in a 2023 production of A Doll’s House.
Noma Dumezweni
Noma Dumezweni has an unannounced role in the cast of Retribution. As a theater actor, Dumezweni has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role twice, for her performances as Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun and Hermione Granger in the original West End run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. On the big screen, she’s known for her roles as Miss Penny Farthing in Mary Poppins Returns, Mrs. Lee in The Kid Who Would Be King, and Prince Eric’s mother Queen Selina in the cast of Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (an original character created specifically for the remake).
Emily Kusche As Mila
Emily Kusche appears in the Retribution cast in the supporting role of Mila. Kusche is a German actor best known for her recurring role as Evelin Kern in the TV thriller series Sløborn (also known as The Island in English-speaking markets). She made her film debut with the role of Marie in the 2013 family fantasy film The Little Ghost. Kusche’s previous film roles include Klara Baumann in the 2018 historical drama movie Balloon and Emily in the 2020 crime thriller movie Cortex. She played Sonya Tomic in Split Homicide season 3, episode 1, “Der Mädchenmörder von Krac,” and a babysitter in Dogs of Berlin season 1, episode 6, “Abseits.”