With studios so focused on franchises and trilogies as of late, it’s weird to think that a movie could possibly be made without a built-in plan for additional sequels. However, in 2008, that’s exactly what happened with the Liam Neeson revenge flick Taken, a surprise hit that was never intended to spawn a franchise. The inevitable sequel eventually arrived this past weekend where it was met with terrible reviews, but it also earned $125 million worldwide. After putting up those kinds of numbers, it seems pretty obvious that Taken is destined to become a trilogy. This week screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen all but confirmed it:

“We didn’t start talking about [Taken 3] until we saw the numbers. But then we said, ‘Oh, okay. I think we should do a third one.’ And Fox wants us to do a third one… We’ve taken everyone we can take — it’s going to go in another direction. Should be interesting.”

It’s hard to believe that a series called Taken could possibly “go in another direction”, but I suppose they’ll have to try something new if they want to keep people interested. But could they be thinking about getting rid of Liam Neeson completely? He has been reluctant to commit to another installment and previously told Empire that Taken 3 was not a possibility in his mind:

“I don’t think it’s going to happen. I really don’t. I can’t see a possible scenario where audiences wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, come on…! She’s taken again?'”

Still, even though Taken 2 is sitting at a lowly 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, it supposedly had a CinemaScore of B+, which indicates that the average moviegoer didn’t really have a problem with it. What do you think, is there still potential for another Taken sequel? Would you watch a Taken movie without Liam Neeson?