Taken is set to transfer from big screen to small, as the film franchise is adapted as a TV show.

The show will be a prequel of the action movies, which started with Taken in 2008 and ended with Taken 3 last year. Lead actor Liam Neeson is not involved in the NBC project, but the original film’s writer Luc Besson is creating the series.

According to Digital Spy, the TV show will follow a younger Bryan Mills, played in the films by Liam, as he learns his “very particular set of skills”.

Bryan is yet to start a family, cutting down on the number of characters who could potentially be kidnapped.

Luc is an executive producer on the series along with Matthew Gross, Edouard de Vesinne and Thomas Anargyros.

Taken was a surprise hit, taking 226 million dollars (£144.5 million) at the global box office and transforming Liam into an action star, as well as spawning two sequels. The entire franchise has now made 928.7 million dollars (£593.7 million) worldwide.

Liam Neeson in Taken 3
Liam grapples with a baddie in Taken 3 (Fox UK)