What does Liam Neeson have in common with Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt, and Johnny Depp? Now he's also a part of the exclusive $20 million pay club, as he will be reprising his role of vengeful former CIA man Bryan Mills in "Taken 3," after the well received 2008 original and 2012 sequel.
The first "Taken" film made Neeson, now 61, a surprise action hero when it came out in 2008. In the movie, Neeson's character used his "particular set of skills" to track down and take revenge on those who kidnapped his daughter in France to sell her into sex slavery.
The actor was reluctant to film a sequel, but gave in, earning $15 million for "Taken 2." The sequel cost around $45 million and grossed more than $376 million, seeing an improvement from the first film, which cost $25 million and grossed more than $226 million.
And it just seems that as much as Neeson refuses to continue with the sequels, offers keep pouring in. The actor had previously laughed off the possibility of a new movie a few months ago saying "that's just bad parenting," but who can decline a $20 million paycheck?
Now that 20th Century Fox and Luc Besson's EuropaCorp production company have secured Neeson, they are trying to get Maggie Grace, who plays Neeson's character's daughter, and Famke Janssen who plays his ex-wife, although the pair reconciled in the second film.
The script for "Taken 3" was already written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and although there's no director yet, Oliver Megaton, who directed "Taken 2" might be returning. Production on this film is scheduled to begin in 2014.
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