Jennifer Beals ("Flashdance") has been tapped to star as the female lead in NBC's upcoming "Taken" prequel series.

According to Deadline, the "Book of Eli" star will appear opposite Clive Stranden -- who will play Liam Neeson's character from the film -- in the adaptation, which has already been given a straight to series order. Beals is playing Christina Hart -- the Special Deputy Director of National Intelligence -- who has taken Stranden's Bryan Mills under her wing.

They add about her character, "Cultured and powerful with a wealth of field experience, her current government position has her overseeing an elite team of operatives who take care of America’s national security emergencies."

The series will follow how Mills got his handy skill set, which we saw play out in the original action trilogy.

Directed by Alex Graves, the "Taken" pilot is written by Alex Cary -- who is also executive producing -- for EuropaCorp TV USA and Universal Television.