Back in September, NBC issued a straight-to-series order for a prequelTV seriesbased on the hit action movie franchiseTaken. We haven’t heard much about the series since then, but today we have word fromThe Hollywood Reporterthat the show has found its leading man,VikingsstarClive Standen. The actor will play a younger version ofLiam Neeson’s Bryan Mills in the series, which is set in modern-day.
In the originalTaken, Liam Neeson starred as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA agent who springs into action when his daughter (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped during a trip to Paris. After contacting one of the thugs who took his daughter, Mills delivered an iconic speech to one of his daughter’s kidnappers, revealing the “very particular set of skills” he acquired over a long career, which makes him “a nightmare for people like you.” We see these skills in action throughout the rest of the movie, and its subsequent sequels, but thisTaken serieswill show how a younger Mills acquired these skills, as he’s recruited to become a black ops agent in the elite Emergency Covert Action Team.
Luc Bessonand hisEuropaCorpare producing the series, which may be borrowing the format from A&E’sBates Motel. That show is set years before the events ofAlfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classicPsycho, but is still set in present day.Luc Bessonis executive producing with EuropaCorp Television U.S. president Matthew Gross, alongside EuropaCorp Television co-chairs Edouard de Vésinne and Thomas Anargyros. This project is the first from EuropaCorp TV US, which has partnered with UniversalTV for the series.
Alexander Cary (Homeland) will write the pilot script and executive produce, withAlex Gravesset to direct the pilot episode. The originalTakentook in an impressive $226 million worldwide from just a $25 million budget. Theaction-thrillerspawned 2012’sTaken 2, which took in $376.1 million from a $45 million budget and last year’sTaken 3, which earned $325.7 million from a $48 million budget.
Clive Standen has starred as Rollo on History Channel’sVikingssince the series first launched in 2013, withSeason 4set to air next month. He also recently starred on the big screen in Universal Pictures’Everest, and he will next be seen inPatient Zero, arriving this September. What do you think about Clive Standen becoming the new Bryan Mills?
