The idea of a sequel to the 2008 film Wanted, based on Mark Millar’s comic series, has been floating around since before the first film even opened. Back in ’08 Wanted screenwriters Derek Haas and Michael Brandt (who shared screen credit with Chris Morgan) were supposedly hired to script the sequel, but the fact of the theoretical film has never been very certain. Evan Spiliotopoulos, co-writer of Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, was later hired to write a draft. As the producers tried and failed to persuade Angelina Jolie to return for a sequel (a difficult task, given how she ended up in the first film) it looked like Wanted 2 might not happen.
The last time we heard from original director Timur Bekmambetov, he said discussions with Universal were ongoing with respect to the sequel, but the schedule of lead actor James McAvoy was problematic, as was the degree of control Universal wanted over the film. Now Derek Haas says he and Brandt have been hired to script the sequel once more. And with that news, Wanted creator Mark Millar is taking the opportunity to tease more movie developments. Read More »
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Producer Jim Lemley spoke at the University of Idaho on Monday, to students in the College of Business as part of the 2011 Spring Executive Speaker Series. Lemley is alumni, a 1988 marketing graduate. /Film reader Dustin sent in a report from Lemley’s presentation (I have confirmed his appearance with the college), where the producer revealed some details about his current project, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and talked about the possibility of Wanted 2. You can read Dustin’s report after the jump.
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We’ve wondered for quite some time what film Timur Bekmambetov might direct next. At one point, it seemed like he would follow his last movie, Wanted, with a direct sequel. But that is taking time to come together, and recently his prioritites have shifted to adapting the novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which he is also producing with Tim Burton. Now the director confirms that as his next effort, while offering updates on quite a few other projects to which he’s been linked. Read More »
Small updates on a few films have hit the ‘net over the past couple days, in part due to junket appearances by various actors. Sam Worthington, while promoting his new comics and film endeavor, talked about Clash of the Titans 2. Kevin Smith addressed Red State and the possible rating for Hit Somebody, and Angelina Jolie explained her disinterest in Wanted 2.
With respect to the latter, Jolie’s comments are spoilerish for the first film. I assume anyone reading about Wanted 2 has either seen the first or doesn’t care about knowing what happens, but now you’ve been warned. Read More »
Not so long ago we learned that Angelina Jolie left Wanted 2 to peruse other projects, basically dumping the movie in development heck. Now E! Online is reporting that director Timur Bekmambetov has met at least once with Twilight star Kristen Stewart to replace Jolie in the comic book sequel. According to the report, Stewart would star alongside James McAvoy, and play “a young, ass-kicking assassin in the Fraternity.”
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In this week’s episode of the /Filmcast, David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley try to figure out what Kevin Smith was going for in Cop Out, assess the career of David Goyer, and shower praise on Triangle, The Last Airbender, and the Muppet movies. Special guest Laremy Legel joins us from Film.com.
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So I have a bit of bad news for you guys: It looks as if the Wanted sequel will not be happening after all. Angelina Jolie pulled out of the project to pursue another film.
That is where the good news comes in: Jolie left Wanted 2 to star in Alfonso Cuarón’s space thriller titled Gravity. Okay, let me give you guys a minute to catch your breath and calm down, I know this is all coming a bit fast — yes, Cuarón, the master filmmaker behind Children of Men, the best movie in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as the classic Y tu mamá también, will be directing a space thriller, written by his 28-year-old son, Jonás (The Shock Doctrine).What’s it about?
According to Vulture, Jolie will play the sole surviving human member of a space mission, desperately trying to return home to Earth. She will be the only actor on screen for most of the movie. Oh, and did I mention that Jolie isn’t alone on the ship? Jolie will also be playing her daughter.
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Last time I wrote about Wanted 2, it was to talk about the fact that Fox, Angelina Jolie‘s character from the original film, might return. At that point, many things pointed to the liklihood of that actually happening being pretty low. But a couple of days ago I missed a piece on MTV (because I’m no longer used to them posting anything that isn’t Twilight-related) in which director Timur Bekmambetov talks about having cracked an idea to feature Fox once more. Now Anne Thompson says that Jolie is reading the current script, with hopeful Universal execs waiting for her thumbs-up.
At some point, we’ll have to agree that the spoiler window has closed for Wanted, but I’ll play along for now and warn you that there are some of those after the break. Read More »
