Liam Neeson to pull out of 'Taken 2'?

Liam Neeson could be close to dropping out of the sequel to Taken, it has been reported.

The actor was thought to be on board for the follow-up to the 2008 action thriller, but it recently emerged that scheduling issues would force him to leave the project, according to Deadline.

Writer-producer Luc Besson apparently identified a number of actors to take over the lead role from Neeson. The list included Mickey Rourke, Ralph Fiennes, Ray Winstone, Sean Bean and Jason Isaacs.

Besson has since entered into fresh negotiations with Neeson with a view to overcoming the difficulties and allowing the actor to shoot the film in Istanbul later this year, but no deal has yet been struck.

Transporter 3 director Olivier Megaton is apparently in talks to helm the picture, which is expected to be distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Neeson recently shot a cameo appearance in the upcoming sequel to The Hangover, which the star described as "pretty intense".

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