If there is something that binds the world together as a community is the childhood memories we share of playing the most iconic game of all time, Taken. From fighting to get the first turn on the computer to owning individual Netflix accounts and getting private access to the series, the history of Taken goes long.
Since the massive success of the movie and web series of Taken 3, a question that has been disturbing the fans worldwide is whether or not they would be able to see their favourite characters once again, is Taken four happening?
While the controversy around the topic still exists, here’s everything that we know about the comeback of this legendary series.
Renewed or Canceled?
While most fans are hoping that the officials will report a series renewal, the unfortunate news is that Taken 4 is cancelled and not happening. While the reason for the same is still unknown, we know that fans’ disappointment is breaking out in almost all possible forms.
After Liam Neeson gave his statement regarding the discontinuation of the series, netizens chose Twitter to share their discontent. In an exclusive interview on the famous “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert“, Liam Neeson told the host that there would be no fourth sequel of the Taken series, at least not with him.
Although rumour has it that the trailer of the 4th series of Taken has been released, it is not valid. After all, think about it, if the show has been cancelled, what would the production company release a trailer of. So, don’t fall into the gimmicks of increasing views on fan-made trailer videos.
Why is the show canceled?
As soon as Taken 3 crossed its fifth release anniversary, it became difficult for fans to contain their excitement about Taken 4. But as soon as the officials declared that the show was cancelled, one question that hovered through the minds of everybody was why?
While the officials have not released a concrete statement stating the reason for the same, here are some of the speculations that are coming through;
- Some say that the makers could not think of a novel storyline in Taken 4. If you are a fan, you must be aware of how the synopsis of the series revolves around a daughter that gets kidnapped and the life that follows. Reportedly, it became difficult for the makers and the writers to put a unique ending to the same content, making it difficult to make an entire movie.
- Many also state that since the movie got turned into a brand of TV series, copyright issues might have inhibited them from continuing with the series further.
- While the company was earning vast sums of profit from the show, the user rating slowly declined. This must have made the officials think of what would happen if they released another spinoff and the ratings dropped further, thus putting them on the far end of the profit scale.
Everything you need to know about Taken so far
For the newbies who are thinking of beginning with the movie and the series, here’s an overview of what you can and cannot expect from your hours of watching. There are no spoilers in the following synopsis, and the intent is only to inform viewers in advance what the show is about.
Written by Robert Marc Kamen and produced by Luc Besson, the Taken film originally belongs to the Action-thriller genre, first introduced as a game commonly played on PCs. Later, a movie based on the same storyline of the game was released that was now expanded and released as a 3 season web series on the famous OTT platform, Netflix.
Although the movie producer, Luc Besson, belongs of French origin, the film shows no traces of the culture and is entirely based on English. However, here is general information about the characters and storyline of the series to help you place yourself in the proper context:
- Bryan Mills is the main character, and his presence is observed in all three series. He has a daughter, Kim, who gets kidnapped at the beginning of the series, and the rest of the series follows after this incident. Usually, it involves the attempts made by Mills to save his daughter from the kidnapper.
- In the first season, we observe that Mills is a former government operator, and his daughter was kidnapped on her way to a school trip. While the kidnapper demands no specific ransom amount, he threatens to kill everyone present on the trip, which becomes a contingency for Mills to rescue his daughter further.
- In the second season, Mills is a CIA retired officer who is a divorcee. His daughter, Kim, lives with his ex-wife, both of whom are invited over to dinner at Mill’s place. Having been separated from her second husband, Mills’s ex-wife gets a chance to spend some time in solace with Mills, who is currently working in Istanbul.
- The third season revolves primarily around Kim’s birthday and Mills giving all his attempts to gift her something special. He hosts a dinner and invites over his wife, Lenore. Lenore strictly declines to owe to her previous commitments of having an important meeting. Next thing we know, Lenore gets kidnapped on her way to the meeting, and neither Mills nor Kim hears from her, putting them in a state of crisis.
Conclusion
The popularity of Taken is evident because even after so many years of its release, the affection it gets doesn’t waver even a bit. There was also a fair share of criticism on the show — it seems not everybody is heartbroken over its end. It only has a 32 percent positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics weren’t too kind to it when it premiered.
So while the show is most certainly not happening, you can still celebrate the fantastic show by inviting some friends over and hosting a game night or watching the movie and earlier parts of the same. Do not forget to go through our posts for more recent updates!