Fans of the "Taken" movies starring Liam Neeson can get excited because the action isn't over just yet. A third installment to the film is reportedly in the works and Deanline says the leading man will be returning, but his presence won't be cheap.
The actor is reportedly closing a deal with EuropaCorp, the company that produced the previous two films, to reprise his role as Bryan Mills for a whopping $20 million. Neeson was apparently a reluctant participant in the first sequel but was paid $15 million to be in the movie, it appears that with the third movie he'll be getting a $5 million raise.
This isn't necessarily as crazy as it sounds as the first two movies showed increased demand rather than decreased like a lot of other sequels. The first film cost $25 million to make and grossed $226 million at the box office. Following that, "Taken 2" cost $45 million to make but grossed $376 million.
The first film followed Neeson as he tried to rescue his kidnapped daughter in France. She was sold into sex slavery and Neeson used his brutal skills as an ex CIA agent to find her.
The next hurdle for the filmmakers is getting Maggie Grace, who played Neeson's daughter in the first two films, and Famke Jannssen, who played his ex-wife, back on board to reprise their roles as well. According to Deadline, the original scriptwritng duo from the other films, Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen are back together and have a script well in the works for a third movie. No director has been set yet but it is likely Oliver Megaton returns. Megaton is responsible for directing the sequel earlier last year.
Although the peripheral are important to the plot of the films, getting Neeson back has always been the key. The involvement of the 61-year-old leading man would ensure the future of the film, that largely centers around him fighting enemies and doing impressive, crowd-pleasing spy stuff, which made the first two films such a popular action title.
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