Owen Wilson To Star in Action Film with The Tone of TAKEN

Owen Wilson will be strapping up for an action film for the first time since Behind Enemy Lines, which came out over a decade ago! Can you believe that?! While he's been lounging in comedy-country (often vacationing in Wes Andersonville) for a while, crashing weddings and voicing dogs and cars, a good action flick might just be what he needs.

Crime Scene Pictures will put Wilson in the lead role in The Coup, an action drama to that will be directed by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil).

Dowdle co-wrote the script with his brother Drew Dowdle. The film will reportedly have a tone comparable to Taken, with Wilson paying the father of a family that moves to Southeast Asia who find themselves embroiled in a violent coup when rebels mercilessly attack the city.

Here's what the producers had to say about what got them excited about the premise of The Coup and putting Wilson in the role:

We love the relentless energy of the Dowdle Brothers’ script – and their vision for dropping Owen in the midst of the chaos is truly inspired... When I first read the Dowdles’ screenplay, I was immediately taken with how strongly it taps into that primal fear which any parent can relate to, when it comes to the safety and protection of their family.

You can take the actor out of the comedy, but you can't take the comedy out of the comedian. That didn't make sense, did it? I'm sure it wouldn't hurt the film to have Wilson's smart mouth supplying at least a liiiiitle comic relief, right? Shooting will begin in October in Southeast Asia.

Are you excited to see Owen Wilson get his action on?