Forest Whitaker In Talks For ‘Taken 3’, Olivier Megaton To Direct
AlthoughLiam Neesoninitially seemedcompletely disinterestedinTaken 3, he eventually came around after a bit of soul-searching andan offer for $20 million. Now the other pieces of the puzzle are falling into place around him.
Olivier Megatonwill return to direct the third installment of the thriller franchise, whileForest Whitakercould join Neeson in front of the camera. More details after the jump.Robert Mark KamenandLuc Bessonwrote the script forTaken 3, as they did the other films. Besson is also producing, through his company EuropaCorp. No plot details have been revealed, although Kamen has hinted thatTaken 3won’t follow the same formula. “We’ve taken everyone we can take — it’s going to go in another direction,” hesaidin 2012.
As for why a film series would keep going after the central premise has been tapped out, the very obvious answer is that theTakenfilms have made a truckload of money. The first, which was directed by Pierre Morel, cost $25 million to make and grossed $226 million worldwide while Megaton’s sequel cost $45 million and made $376 million.
In the process, the franchise has transformed Neeson’s career, turning him from a respected but not overly famous award-winning actor into an international action star. It’s unclear what role Whitaker will play in the film, but it’ll be interesting to see ifTaken 3can boost his status in a similar (if less dramatic) way.
Whitaker is coming off of Scott Cooper’sOut of the Furnaceand the Christmas musicalBlack Nativity. His highest-profile role last year was inLee Daniels' The Butler, which was completely shut out of the Academy Award nominations despite some good buzz early on.
