Thanks to Deadpool joking about Liam Neeson being a bad parent in the Taken movies, I remembered that a TV series is still in the works. With NBC skipping the pilot stage and going full series mode, today brings word of who will be the new Bryan Mills. As it turns out, that man with a very particular set of skills is Vikings star Clive Standen.
As previously reported, this latest movie-to-TV adaptation is a modern-day prequel to the Neeson-led franchise, which sees the ex-CIA operative hunting down those bastards who keep messing with his family. Luc Besson, who co-wrote the script for the original Taken and worked on its sequels, returns for the series as a producer. Standen will play a younger version of Mills as he acquires those skills he keeps bragging about.
Alex Carey (Homeland) is a writer and director on the series in addition to an executive producer alongside Matthew Gross, Edouardde Vesinne, and Thomas Anargyros.
According to Entertainment Weekly, fans of Vikings shouldn’t be worried that Standen's character, Rollo, will be getting the axe. The magazine reports he is still committed to the remainder of Season 4, while the series showrunner, Michael Hirst, teased a “final reckoning” between Standen’s character and his on-screen brother, Ragnar (Travis Fimmel).
Elsewhere, Standen had a string of roles in various shows, including Doctor Who and Camelot, and he recently appeared in Everest alongside Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal. Should this series turn out stellar ratings for the network, Taken could end up being a star-driving vehicle for Standen, though it’s difficult to imagine something of that scale happening. The recent of trend of movie-to-TV adaptations tend to either miss completely or develop a modest fan base. Minority Report failed for Fox and Sleeping Hollow received unexpected success before ratings sunk. Fargo, on the other hand, is a rare case that made it earned Emmy and Golden Globes recognition.
