Never let it be said that Liam Neeson won’t keep the door open on any possible sequel. Non-Stop 2? Send him the screenplay. More Narnia movies? He has his lion voice ready. And Taken 4? Heck, there were seven Police Academy movies, so never say never!
The box office figures for Taken 3 have to at least bolster the notion that audiences aren’t done with Bryan Mills and his particular set of skills just yet, meaning Taken 4 undoubtedly is being discussed in some boardroom at 20th Century Fox while you are reading this. When Liam Neeson was asked by FoxNews.com if he’d ever entertain the notion of coming back for more adventures in this franchise, he certainly didn’t shoot the idea out of the sky. Neeson diplomatically said:
"There’s always… I think if audiences go and see it and they like these characters, I mean, I'd love to do something with Forest [Whitaker] again, and if it's in a Taken 4 scenario… great."
The first part of that equation was answered in spades, as Liam Neeson’s Taken 3 topped the weekend box office charts with a healthy $40.4 million, the second-highest January opening ever, according to BoxOfficeMojo. It’s worth noting that this opening number is less than Taken 2 ($49 million), but higher than Neeson’s Non-Stop ($28.9 million in February 2014). This suggests that audiences actually prefer Neeson playing Bryan Mills in an action thriller… not just a random older gentleman who’s gifted when it comes to snuffing out bad guys.
That doesn’t bode well for Run All Night, which opens on April 17 and looks like just another Neeson-As-Aging-Badass thriller.
So, will Taken 4 happen? Likely not. The team behind the franchise have been saying the entire time that this is it. Neeson demanded that they avoid a scenario where someone gets "taken," and even though they fulfilled that wish, the reviews have not been kind. Our own Gregory Wakeman said this sequel is "truly atrocious," and the movie only boasts a 12% Fresh grade on Rotten Tomatoes.
Still, never say never. Listen to Liam Neeson’s comments on Taken 4 in context:
And see Taken 3 in theaters now, if you love Neeson’s particular set of skills as Bryan Mills.
