While TAKEN 2 may not have been as good as the original film, the band is staying together as Liam Neeson and director Olivier Megaton will reunite for TAKEN 3 with shooting tentatively set to start this March. Neeson may be joined by Forest Whitaker this time around, adding some additional star power to what was previously a one man show. No word on plot but expect to see Maggie Grace return as well as Neeson’s daughter.
TAKEN was a surprise hit that reinvigorated the career of Liam Neeson and prompted his appearance in numerous films playing men with particular sets of skills. Neeson was originally not interested in appearing in TAKEN 2 but was offered $15 million to play Brian Mills a second time. Deadline reports that Neeson could be paid $20 million to play Mills a third time.
Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson wrote the screenplay for TAKEN 3 as they did for the first two films. I am thinking that Whitaker could make an interesting foe to toe off with Neeson, but he could make a decent partner as well. Whitaker is an excellent actor and could play good or bad characters equally well.
TAKEN 3 has no projected release date, but expect it to be by the end of 2014 at the earliest.