Not too long ago we found out that there’d been some progress with the development of a sequel to the 2008 action movie succesful “Wanted”, but haven’t heard too much from the project in the last few months. Today we get a little confirmation that the project is still very much alive with the announcement that screen writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas have been tapped to script the sequel.
Jolie’s lack of interest though (understandable given her characer’s position at the end of the first film) seemed to stymie Universal, and the nascent franchise languished in development hell.
Until yesterday, when The Wrap got hold of Haas and got him to expand on his initial cursory tweet spilling the beans. “We just always loved the Wanted world, and loved working with Universal and Timur Bekmambetov,” Haas says, “so we’re excited! Wanted 2 is going to take off right after the events that just happened; it’ll pick up Wesley a few years later and go back in for another round.” A later Haas tweet confirmed that the script he and Brandt are developing is “Fox-less and loom-less”. Definitely no Jolie then, but will McAvoy be back to reprise Wesley?
Strictly at the writing stage, there’s not yet a green light or start date for the film, and Haas says that Bekmambetov is “a busy guy”, so there’s no director attached yet either.
I like that the writers are still working on this and appreciate that they’re taking their time to ensure a quality film is produced without forcing the return of some of the previous films’ stars. What I don’t like is that they may be taking too much time. It’s been over 3yrs since the release of the original and the fact that they’re still in the writing stage does little to re-assure me that I’ll be watching this film anywhere in the near future. I’m definitely curious to find out what perdicament that they can shove Wesley into in a sequel and sincerely hope it’s as entertaining as the first movie, and I also hope that by the time this movie finds its release that I still have an interest in the franchise.
