Summary
- Wanted 2 was planned with new characters and a different story, but development stalled despite initial interest and ideas.
- James McAvoy is open to reprising his role in Wanted 2, but the sequel has not materialized due to development issues.
- The original Wanted film, based on Mark Millar's comic series, left room for a sequel that never came to fruition, despite financial success.
For more reasons than one, starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman, Wanted is a pulse-pounding action film.
McAvoy plays the main character, Wesley, who gets recruited to be a ruthless, cold-blooded assassin, while Jolie plays his mentor, Fox. Freeman's Sloan oversees Fraternity's missions and doles them out to various Fraternity . As Wanted progresses, Wesley learns how Sloan has been manipulating him to take out targets without explaining why he is killing people. Although the movie ends on a conclusive note, it leaves room for potential follow-ups.
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Wanted 2 Was Going To Happen
A Team For The Sequel Had Been Assembled
The Wanted movie ended with James McAvoy's character ready to step into his new role as a highly-trained assassin. And, after the movie made $341 million at the worldwide box office, it was hardly surprising that conversations about a possible Wanted sequel began. That said, it wasn't until 2011 that reports emerged that Universal was seriously exploring developing Wanted 2. Wanted screenwriting team Michael Brandt and Derek Haas had been re-hired to write the script and Bekmambetov attached himself to the sequel, although he had to finish filming on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter first.
The Wanted 2 Story Would Have Made Big Changes
The Sequel Would Introduce Many New Characters & Factions
The plans for Wanted 2 suggested a rather different story. Picking up with Wesley a few years later, Mark Millar suggested a sequel would introduce the other assassin fraternities featured in the Wanted comics (there are five total) and bring in "another cool new character" to replace Jolie, who ed on returning shortly before development on the sequel began. In 2012, co-screenwriter Derek Haas elaborated on these early story details by sharing that Wanted 2's story would turn The Fraternity's mantra — "Kill one, save a thousand" — on its head.
However, he did not specify how exactly that would play out in the movie. He added in a separate interview that the new character taking over the female lead slot from Angelina Jolie would be in a similar position to Wesley in Wanted: "She's got a shitty life. He's sort of in the Fox role." Bekmambetov also shared in an interview promoting Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter that Wanted 2 would have "the same character, same mythology, but it's got a great twist."
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Wanted 2 Has Been Stuck In Developmental Hell - Delays & Updates Explained
Unfortunately, despite initially gaining some momentum, Wanted 2's development has remained stagnant for quite some time. In an interview (via MovieWeb), Michael Brandt revealed he had an idea for the film and even the studio was interested in going ahead with it after he pitched it. The first movie's director, Timur Bekmambetov, also liked the notion of expanding the first film's lore, but he wanted to do it differently. By the time the movie's team could settle on some changes suggested by Bekmambetov, it was already too late to develop the film.
...The prospect of Wanted 2 eventually faded, leaving the project in a limbo
As Brandt revealed, the studio expected them to have a quick turnover rate, which was not possible after Bekmambetov's dissatisfaction with the ideas in Wanted 2's initial script. Owing to this, the prospect of Wanted 2 eventually faded, leaving the project in a limbo. Brandt also added that, every once in a while, he receives calls from producers who ask him if Wanted 2 could still happen. When he hands them the script, they even like his ideas. However, the project always dies when it comes down to getting in touch with the studio.
What James McAvoy Has Said About Wanted 2
James McAvoy Is Open To Reprising His Wanted Role
James McAvoy has played a staggering number of interesting characters in his career, but not all of them are ones he would like to revisit. In a 2021 interview with Screen Rant, however, when asked which characters he would be interested in taking another crack at, he mentioned that "I always fancied seeing what happened to Wesley Gibson in the movie, Wanted." This is far from McAvoy fully committing to appear again as Wesley Gibson, and Wanted 2 still doesn't appear to be happening.
In a post-The Boys world accustomed to extremely confrontational superhero content, a Wanted sequel that takes the series a little closer to its horrifying roots would be not only possible but welcomed, and James McAvoy would be well-positioned to reassume the role.
Still, it is interesting that in a career as long and varied as McAvoy's, Wesley Gibson represents a pair of shoes he'd like to step back into. This is probably a testament to how engaging it was for McAvoy to make Wanted and how well the movie set itself up for a sequel, despite the fact that it never actually happened. In a post-The Boys world accustomed to extremely confrontational superhero content, a Wanted sequel that takes the series a little closer to its horrifying roots would be not only possible but welcomed, and James McAvoy would be well-positioned to reassume the role.
Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' action-packed thriller comic series arrives on the big screen with Wanted. This story revolves around James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson, an manager with an unfulfilling and aggravating life that changes drastically when he learns the truth about his family. Discovering that he is the son of an assassin who worked for an organization called the Fraternity, he decides to follow in his footsteps and them.
- Cast
- James McAvoy, Thomas Kretschmann
- Runtime
- 110 Minutes
- Director
- Timur Bekmambetov
- Writers
- Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Chris Morgan
- Studio(s)
- Relativity Media, Spyglass Media Group
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Budget
- $75 Million
