The almost Billy Martin/ George Steinbrenner-esque cameo in The Hangover 2 drama may have finally come to an end. After hiring Mel Gibson to appear, then listening to Zach Galifianakis bitch about it, then subsequently firing Mel Gibson, it seems Todd Phillips has decided to play this one a little more down the middle. Taken star and Jew-saver, not hater, Liam Neeson has been signed to play the much-talked about tattoo artist in the upcoming sequel. Should I be excited about this? Because to be perfectly honest, I was excited about Mel Gibson.

Little is known about the role in question, except that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s “pivotal” and involves a certain level of scariness. Don’t get me wrong, Liam Neeson is a scary son of a bitch, and I support almost all of his endeavors, but seeing Mel Gibson try to at least in part find his way back into the good graces of the American film audience gave the cameo some weight, kind of like how a drugged-out Mike Tyson’s did for his walk-on in the original.

Accounting for someone’s personal demons in a professional environment is always a slippery slope. I don’t know when it’s too soon to forgive someone for their misdeeds, just as I don’t know when it’s appropriate to no longer mention horrible things like spousal abuse when reporting on something like this. But I do know The Hangover grossed hundreds of millions of dollars because it unflinchingly refused to compromise its heavy R-rating and adult subject matter. Only time will tell if this was the only PC-inspired decision Todd Phillips and crew decided to make.