Liam Neeson Cast as Hockey Coach in True-Story Film Believe 13

Liam Neeson has been cast as Jack Blatherwick, a legendary hockey coach and trainer, in Believe 13, a film based on a true story. Deadline reported the casting on 2 November 2026.

The film tells how Blatherwick helped Jack "Jabby" Jablonski, a young hockey player with big hopes, after a catastrophic injury changed his life. Jablonski was 16, a high-school player wearing number 13, when a spinal injury left him paralysed, meaning he lost the use of his legs.

Blatherwick has a long record in the sport. He helped Herb Brooks train the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that beat the Soviet Union, the match known as the "Miracle on Ice." He had also joined Brooks' coaching staff with the New York Rangers. Jablonski went on to work for a decade in the communications team of the LA Kings, the Los Angeles NHL club.

Robert Lorenz will direct the film, from a screenplay by Randy Brown. For Lorenz and Neeson, it is the third time they have worked together. The story rests on the life rights of both men, meaning the permission needed to tell a real person's story on screen. Producer Kristin Hahn of Hahnscape Entertainment secured those rights and first developed the project.

Hahn is joined by Michele Weisler and Clearblack Films. Myles Nestel of Solution Entertainment and Matt Einstein of Tradition Pictures are also listed as producers. Each producer brings a different set of skills, from finding financing to lining up the cast and crew, and a film of this kind usually needs all of them.

Filming is set to begin in early 2027 in Minnesota. "Principal photography" is the industry term for the main shoot, when most of the film is recorded. Before then, the film will be presented to buyers. Solution partner Lisa Wilson will introduce Believe 13 to worldwide buyers at the American Film Market, the trade event where distributors look for films to license before they are finished.

Neeson has also recently recorded the voiceover for an ESPN spot promoting NHL Opening Night, the start of the league's season. The new casting puts him back in the hockey world, this time in a story about the people who shape players, not just the players themselves.

For now, the film is at the casting and sales stage. Its story is drawn from two real lives, and its cast and crew will take shape over the coming months.