Liam Neeson has signed on to join Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe in director Martin Scorsese's period drama Silence.

The story is adapted from Shusaku Endo's novel that follows Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield), a Portugese Jesuit priest who travels to Japan upon hearing that his mentor has abandoned the church. No details were given for Liam Neeson's character, although it's possible he is playing the mentor. Ken Watanabe portrays Rodrigues' Japanese interpreter, while Issei Ogata also stars in an unspecified role.

Martin Scorsese is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with his Gangs of New York screenwriter Jay Cocks. Emmett/Furla/Oasis is providing the financing, with production scheduled to begin in Taiwan later this year.

Liam Neeson will next be seen in the action-thriller Non-Stop, arriving in theaters February 28, and later this year in A Million Ways to Die in the West and A Walk Among the Tombstones. He also lends his voice to Good Cop/Bad Cop in The Lego Movie, opening in theaters February 7.