Tradecraft: EuropaCorp Expands Transporter, Taken Franchises

Variety reports that Luc Besson's "French Hollywood" EuropaCorp (which recently announced plans to build a mega-studio outside Paris) will expand two of its popular neo-Eurospy franchises. The company has "initiated development" on Taken 2 after the Liam Neeson film grossed $145 million at the American box office, becoming the surprise sleeper hit of the winter. The company is also venturing into television. "EuropaCorp's TV production plans center on making series spin-offs from its hit movies, such as its Transporter franchise," according to the trade. Variety notes that (prior to EuropaCorp) this model yielded the successful USA TV series La Femme Nikita, based on Besson's seminal 1990 spy film of the same name. I love the Transporter films and thoroughly enjoyed Taken (and as I've often said here I'm thrilled that EuropaCorp is single-handedly keeping the Eurospy genre alive in the 21st century!), so I'm excited on both of these fronts. However, I hope that the move to develop a Transporter TV series isn't an indication that the film series is defunct. Jason Statham is integral to the success of those movies, and he will be tough to replace on the small screen. As cool as a series could be, I would hate to think that it meant we'd never get to see Statham transport anything else!