Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker is in talks to join Liam Neeson for Taken 3.
Deadline has the report. The Liam Neeson starrer Taken 3 is currently in the planning stages, and some necessary pieces are starting to fall in place.
Forest Whitaker is one person who may join the cast. There’s no word yet on what type of role he would take, good or bad. We could just as easily see him cast in a villainous role as we would a role that would make him and Neeson buddy-cops of sorts.
Back in June we reported that Neeson signed on for Taken 3 for $20 million, and it sounds like Maggie Grace will be back, too.
After Taken 2 was released, Neeson denied the possibility and plausibility of Taken 3:
I don’t think it’s going to happen, I can’t see a possible scenario, that audiences wouldn’t go ‘Oh, come on. She’s taken again?’ Unless we do one where I give her away.
Neeson had originally been reluctant to return for even Taken 2, but paychecks of $15 and 20 million for the two sequels changed his mind.
Taken 3 will also see the return of Taken 2 director Olivier Megaton, Deadline adds. While the Taken sequel was far from a critical success, it did bring in $376 million at the worldwide box office, so bringing him back seems like a decent choice, especially given his ability to make that profit on a $45 million budget.
Taken 3 will also see the return of Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. They have written the script for all three installments.