Liam Neeson Will Return for 'Taken 3'

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills; skills he has acquired over a very long career. Particularly, his skills in bringing a certain high-minded dignity to his action movie roles. And those skills will be put to use once again in the third installment of the Taken franchise.

Deadline reports that Neeson is closing a deal to reprise his role as Bryan Mills in Taken 3 for a salary in the realm of $20 million. This is a $5 million raise from the $15 million salary Neeson was paid for Taken 2, which is already a hefty payday in itself.

Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen are reportedly in the process of writing the script, and deals will soon be brokered to get Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen to return, with the goal of a February start date for the production. The project has no director at the moment, but Taken 2 director Olivier Megaton is rumored to return. (Yes, that's his name.)

After Taken 2 opened to negative reviews last year, Liam Neeson was leery about returning for a sequel, particularly since he was reportedly hesitant to make a sequel to the original 2008 thriller in the first place. But Taken 2 ended up being a massive financial success, bringing in close to $375 million worldwide. Thus, the studio was willing to shell out top dollar to get Neeson for a third installment. And who could blame them for opening their wallets? After a career of versatile prestige roles, Liam Neeson, at the age of 61, has officially become one of Hollywood's most bankable action stars, showing that bad-assery knows no age.

So are you up for another round of Taken? Sound off in the comments!