Neeson is Back For ‘Taken 3’, But At a Price

It’s hard to believe that Luc Besson, writer of the Taken films and owner of EuropaCorp, hasn’t run out of people for Bryan Mills to kill, but apparently he’s got enough to fuel a third installment, and main man Liam Neeson is returning to his role as former CIA operative and current badass.

While Neeson was reluctant to even sign onto the first sequel, Taken 2, released in October 2012, deadline.com reports that the actor has been offered a raise of 5 million dollars, upping his pay check from a staggering $15 million in 2012 to an obscene $20 mil for Taken 3, which is expected to begin production in February 2014. The Taken installments have been the most money Neeson has ever made, and so it’s no surprise that he was willing to sign on for a third film.

Although Taken 2 only received a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was regarded by critics as “a sloppy, lazy, unintentionally laughable sequel,” the movie raked in more than $100 million more than the original. Naturally, EuropaCorp has high expectations for the third.

Hoped to return alongside Neeson are Maggie Grace (daughter of Bryan Mills) and Famke Janssen (ex-wife of Mills); no director has been chosen for the third film, but don’t be surprised if director Olivier Megaton, who did Taken 2, returns.