Ever since Wanted turned out to be a bigger than expected hit, grossing over $340M for a film based on comic book series few had read, it seemed logical that a sequel would follow. While the talk picked up pretty quickly, there's been very little genuine progress. Angelina Jolie repeatedly rebuffed attempts to lure her back, meaning that the biggest star had now been lost. Original scribes Derek Haas and Michael Brandt came aboard last September to pen the follow-up, although word has been pretty quiet. Lastly, there's the way the previous film ended, with practically every character that mattered(including Jolie's Fox) left for dead.
Director Timur Bekmambetov has been making the press rounds hyping up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and along the way he was asked about the progress on Wanted 2, and he seems to think they've finally cracked the story code...
Bekmambetov: "An unbelievable thing happened three weeks ago. Because we stopped, we didn't know what to do for three or four years. Three weeks ago I came up with a great idea and I pitched this idea and everybody fell in love with it. And now I think we're on track. Right now the writer is working on the script, and it will be shocking."
That leads to some interesting questions, not the least of which is what the frig have Haas and Brandt been doing all this time if Bekmambetov just came up with the idea three weeks ago? Really? It sounds like bullcrap to me, or maybe the writers were relieved of duty and nobody bothered to announce it. He doesn't give away much in the way of details in regards to the plot, but does reveal it will revolve around the Wesley Gibson character, played by James McAvoy, who has been confirmed to return since 2009.....
Bekmambetov: "It's a continuation of the story, with Wesley Gibson. Other people are dead, you know, we can't bring them back. The story is the same character, same mythology, but it's got a great twist."
In other words, don't expect to see Jolie or Morgan Freeman coming back in anything other than a flashback or cameo. I'm much more curious about those old rumors that had Kristen Stewart taking over the female lead, although that's probably far fetched at this point. Honestly, does anybody really care if they make a sequel? The first film was brash and loud, but ultimately a very empty experience. So much of what made Mark Millar's comic series so good was the premise, which had the bad guys in the world finally defeating the heroes and taking over. The film jettisoned all of that in favor of something totally unoriginal, yet still maintained Millar's trademark arrogance.
I think Wanted 2 will eventually happen, but nobody will care if Jolie's not on board. It's a sequel to a forgettable film, and probably best left to the dustbins of history. [ThePlaylist]
