New story details surrounding an upcoming action movie suggest thatMilla Jovovichmight be the perfect replacement forLiam Neeson’sTakencharacter. When director Pierre Morel’sTakenfirst hit the big screens in 2008, it received mixed reviews from critics. While some appreciated how it offered escapist fantasy to male audiences across the globe, others could not help but overlook how it seemed derivative of many similar films from the past.
Despite being divisive, however,Takenperformed incredibly well at the box office by earning $226 million against a budget of $25 million. The film played a crucial role inturning Liam Neeson into an action star. Its success even spawned multiple sequels, allowing Neeson to have a full-fledged action franchise under his belt. A decade after Liam Neeson last playedBryan Mills inTaken3, it is hard to imagine anyone else portraying the character. However, after all these years, Milla Jovovich is about to play a role that could be a worthy replacement for the ex-Green Beret and CIA officer.
Milla Jovovich’s Upcoming Movie Sounds An Awful Lot Like Taken (& She’s The New Liam Neeson)
Like Mills, Jovovich’s Character Will Rescue Her Daughter
As the new story details surroundingMilla Jovovich’s upcoming thriller movie project, titledProtector, suggest,she will play a Bryan Mills-esque character named Nikki. The character is a former war hero who initially believes that her violent past is behind her, allowing her to peacefully raise her daughter, Chloe. However, to her dismay, trouble comes knocking at her door when she wakes up in an abandoned factory one day and soon learns that someone has abducted her daughter.
While Taken seems to create an escapist fantasy for fathers by placing Mills in the role of a relentless “protector,“Protectorseems to do something similar by portraying a mother’s determination to keep her daughter safe.
Determined to save Chloe before it is too late, Nikki puts her military skills on full display and races against time to find the truth behind her daughter’s abduction. As she lurks in the depths of the city’s dangerous underworld, she is also pursued by both the police and the military. Nikki’s story inProtectorsounds quite similar to Bryan Mills' fromTaken. While Taken seems to create an escapist fantasy for fathers by placing Mills in the role of a relentless “protector,“Protectorseems to do something similar by portraying a mother’s determination to keep her daughter safe.
Why Taken 4 With Liam Neeson Never Happened
Liam Neeson starred in three Taken movies as Bryan Mills, and with the actor’s popularity, why didn’t Taken 4 happen?
Protectorhas nothing to do withtheTakenmoviesand, by no means, is an extension of the action movie franchise. However, considering the similarities between Nikki and Bryan Mills, it would be fair to say that Milla Jovovich is all set to become the new Liam Neeson. Directed by Adrian Grünberg (of theRambo: Last Bloodfame),Protectorwill likely have its own unique selling points, but it would still be fun to see how it would reimagine Taken’s tropes while etching its own identity in the action genre.
Why Milla Jovovich Is Perfect As A Replacement For Taken’s Bryan Mills
Milla Jovovich’s Action Background Makes Her Perfect For The Role
With her long line of compelling roles in action movies likeResident Evil,The Fifth Element, andHellboy,Milla Jovovich has already proven her ability to portray badass and resourceful female characterswho can handle themselves and fight evil in the gravest situations. Owing to this, it is not too hard to imagine her as a character who is set to replaceTaken’s Bryan Mills. Like Bryan’s story inTaken, Nikki’s narrative inProtectorwill also have its emotional core rooted in the fierce love and determination of a parent to protect their child at all costs.
Milla Jovovich almost performed all her stunts in 2002’s Resident Evil.
Therefore, even though it is an action-centric role, it will require the emotional depth that Milla Jovovich is perfectly capable of delivering. Similar to Liam Neeson, Jovovich also has an incredible screen presence, which will allow her to embody the vengeful former war hero inProtector. Not to mention, sinceLiam Neeson’sTakenmovies ran their course before reaching their conclusion, it would be refreshing to see how the same formula would work with a talented female lead likeMilla Jovovich.
Taken
Taken stars Liam Neeson as ex-Green Beret and ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills, who retired from his life of fighting to be there for his family. When his teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) travels to Paris and is kidnapped by human traffickers, Mills launches into action, mounting a one-man rescue mission that sees him tear through gangs of European criminals with extreme prejudice in hopes of finding and rescuing Kim before it’s too late.
