Filmonic » Wanted 2

Timur Bekmambetov has “found the reason” for Jolie’s return in Wanted 2

Liam — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:01:59 +0000

Angelina Jolie has not officially signed on to return for Wanted 2, and we don’t even know if she’ll be up for it, however if she is director Timur Bekmambetov has worked out a way for her character to return, despite shooting herself through the cranium at the end of the first film.

Possible spoilers:

“If you remember from the first film, we have a recovery room with the baths of wax,” Bekmambetov told MTV News. “We know how to do this, but it’s still tough to do, because the bullet is inside her head.”
“But there has to be a reason for her to come back… and we know the reason,” he added. “I think we found the reason for her to come back.”
The filmmaker said the story behind her return from the dead still trumps all other elements, but “we are trying hard.”
“She was kind of… dead,” he laughed.

Damn those pesky curved bullets for killing off the box office draw!

Bekmambetov has said that filming should begin at the end of the year. We should know if Jolie will be returning by then.

Wanted 2 to start filming in a few weeks

Liam — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:08:10 +0000

While at Comic-Con SHH spoke to Mark Miller, creator of Wanted, and he said that Wanted 2 would start filming in 2 months time.

While talking to Mark Millar for Kick-Ass he revealed to us that the script for Wanted 2 is complete and that they’re going to start shooting in eight weeks time.
Timur Bekmambetov is returning to direct while James McAvoy will again play Wesley Gibson.
Millar told us the sequel will revolve around the international group of assassins from issues 4 and 5 from Millar’s graphic novel.

No word on whether Angelina Jolie will be returning. Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov said last month that he’s found a way for her to return, despite being killed off at the end of the first film. We’ll have to wait for casting details over the upcoming weeks to see who will be back.

Timur Bekmambetov has found a way to bring Angelina Jolie back for Wanted 2

Liam — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:48:58 +0000

Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov recently spoke to RIA Novosti and said that work on Wanted 2 will begin next month, and that despite shooting herself through the cranium in the first film, Angelina Jolie’s character may be returning:

“In July we will start preparation for the film. I think in the late autumn or winter shooting will be performed” – Mr. Bekmambetov said to RIA Novosti. “The shooting will take place in America, India and Russia” – added he.
“As for the character played by Kostya Khabenskiy, we’ll think about it. We might possibly resurrect him as well” – the film director said.

Wanted made nearly $350 million worldwide on a $75 million budget, and I think a large portion of that was due to the presence of a certain A-List actress, so to get her back would be great for the film marketing-wise. However, if they keep bringing people back from the dead it spoils things, unless they do it in a clever way.

Chris Morgan talks Wanted 2 and Gears of War

Liam — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:27:06 +0000

A few weeks ago Evan Spiliotopoulos was hired to write the script for Wanted 2, which presented us with 2 questions. Firstly, Chris Morgan was already on-board as writer, so where did he go? And secondly, Evan’s previous credits include Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, how the hell did he land this gig? Thankfully both questions have now been answered with Wanted creator Mark Millar revealing Evan wrote a great un-produced action script, hence the hiring, and now Chris Morgan has explained his Wanted 2 situation to MTV.

We knew we wanted to do ‘Wanted 2,’ so we started developing a take and came up with a story that’s pretty good and develops the characters,” said Morgan. “But in the process of developing it, I also had commitments to ‘Gears of War’ and the samurai movie I’m doing at Universal.”
According to Morgan, Spiliotopoulos will provide the script for the story initially envisioned during the “Wanted 2? planning process, and Morgan will return later to consult and provide any rewrites that might be necessary.
“Evan is going to go ahead and write the story that we came up with and I’m probably going to come on later,” said Morgan. “So, I’m still part of the process, but I didn’t want to hold up the ‘Wanted’ production schedule.”

MTV then asked Morgan for an update on Gear of War:

“A draft went in and we’re talking about it now and we’re budgeting it out,” Morgan told MTV. “It’s looking incredibly good.”
“I think the gamer side is going to be thrilled with it,” said Morgan. “All the stuff you want to see, we put that in there and then we blow it out a little more, even. Now it’s just a matter of honing in on all of the character arcs and determining production types of things.”
For the uninitiated, “Gears of War” centers on the members of Delta Squad, an elite squadron that consists of rough-and-tough, chew-your-guts-out types of soldiers. Players assume the roles of Marcus Fenix, an ex-convict, and Dominic Santiago, a hardened soldier, as the squadron wages war against an insurgent alien race called the Locust Horde — a deadly collective that’s already promised to surface heavily in the film.
“It’s huge,” Morgan declared of the project’s scope. “One of the things they’re really talking about now is the budget of the film and how big of a spectacle this is going to be. My argument is, look at the underlying material. Look at the game and the scenario — the fact that the world is being taken over by the Locust, it has to be huge.”

Mark Millar talks Wanted 2 writer

Liam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:56:18 +0000

Last week we heard that Evan Spiliotopoulos had been brought on-board to write Wanted 2, however some people were a bit sceptical, and it wasn’t just because his name strikes fear into spell checkers worldwide. Evan’s credits include Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and upcoming Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. This doesn’t scream ‘cool action movie with excessive bullet time scenes’ to me. However Mark Millar, creator of the graphic novel and producer on the sequel, has told fans on his message board not to fear.

About Spiliotopoulos, he added that “This guy is supposed to be really good. He did a GREAT action script recently (on an unproduced movie) and that’s what got him this gig.”
“Never listen to any commentators as they never know anything about who’s coming back, etc. It’s just speculation and 99% of the time these guys don’t have access to the people who know. ‘Wanted 2′ is being made in a very tight circle at the moment,” Millar said.
“As a producer on the thing, I’m excited. I know who’s in it and after doing 342 million at the box office we have [serious] money to spend on everything from cast to crew to script.”

All writers have to start somewhere, and it could be the case that Evan Spiliotopoulos started doing the Disney stuff just to get work, and now he’s finally got the type of work he’s wanted all along.

What do Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and Wanted 2 have in common?

Liam — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:34:36 +0000

Evan Spiliotopoulos. That’s what! According to The Hollywood Reporter Evan has been hired to write Wanted 2. His previous credit’s include Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and its DVD Halloween spinoff, however all writers have to start somewhere and I am sure he is capable of going from a chubby child friendly bear, to people shooting curved bullets through other people’s craniums.

Evan Spiliotopoulos, co-writer of “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” and its DVD Halloween spinoff, has been hired to write Universal’s action sequel “Wanted 2,” based on a story by Chris Morgan. Like the original 2008 film, the in-development sequel is based on the comic series created by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones.
Marc E. Platt and Jim Lemley are producing with Timur Bekmambetov, who directed the first film and is attached to helm the sequel. Universal production exec Jeff Kirschenbaum will oversee the project for the studio.
Morgan co-wrote the first film with Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. “Wanted,” which starred Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, grossed $339 million worldwide.

The last we heard on Wanted 2 was from Chris Morgan last November who said that the sequel “is going to be opened up to be more global”. James McAvoy will be back, although there’s no word on whether Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman or Common will return.

Chris Morgan On Wanted 2

Liam — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:58:09 +0000

Wanted writer Chris Morgan recently spoke to MTV about how things were going with Wanted 2, which was greenlight within weeks of the first film being released due to it’s successful money earning abilities.

“Yes, I will be writing it,” confirmed Morgan. “I’m actually leaving this conversation with you to go to a meeting with the director, Timur [Bekmambetov], and we’re talking about the story.”
“As far as I know, the studio is finishing their deal with Mark [Millar], and then we’re all going to get together and collaborate,” said Morgan, a longtime comics fan. “And that’s something I’m very excited about.”
“…the point is to continue the journey that Wes started in the first film. Wherever he ended up at the end of the film, now it’s time to move him forward.”
“There’s a natural journey that Wes needs to take,” continued Morgan, adding that the sequel “is going to be opened up to be more global.”

I’m not sure what they plan to do about the cast. Obviously James McAvoy will return, however Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Common may not. If you have seen the film you will know why. I guess the writers will have to work that one out. (Trying to get the biggest female movie star in the world back should be a priority)

Mark Millar Talks Wanted 2 And 3

Liam — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:52:40 +0000

From the day Wanted came out and made $55 million in it’s opening weekend Universal have been wanting a sequel. Screenwriters have been working on the script for some time now, and James McAvoy has already signed on for three films, so it is safe to say the movie will be happening. But what will it be about? The first movie was based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel, and there is no follow up to that. Well, Mark Millar spoke to Newsarama and explained what would be happening.

“What I will be doing is providing them with a very small amount of stuff for a story, and that will be used as a basic story that they can build from. It will be a small outline that can possibly be picked apart and not used – but it will be something exclusively for the second film, and no one will ever really see it.”
“…It will be some of the stuff that we didn’t utilize from the first book for the movie – like chapters three and four – there will be some stuff from that, so in the loosest sense it will be based on the book, but only very little.”

I’m up for more Wanted films so bring them on! I just wonder what will happen regarding Angelina Jolie, as the movie probably wouldn’t have made all that money if she wasn’t involved. Those who saw the film know what happened to her character, so the writers will have to either A) bring her back to life or B) bring her back via flashbacks. Alternatively, they could hire someone equally famous and bankable like….errr….

Wanted 2 Script Currently Being Written

Liam — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:31:20 +0000

[Some Wanted spoilers]

Variety say that Universal Pictures have decided to keep Wanted producer Marc Platt for five more years, where he will begin work on Wanted 2 with director Timur Bekmambetov and writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.

Wanted was designed as a franchise from the very start, and the writers are going to have to rack their brains considering most of the original cast were shot through the forehead or temple.

“The writers are at work already, and those creative discussions are taking place,” said Platt

Their intention is to get James McAvoy back into gunslinging mode and we will have to wait and see what the writers do with the script to see if Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie or Common return.

Wanted To Become A Trilogy?

Liam — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:34:17 +0000

I saw Wanted the other day and I enjoyed it. Good action, nice twist towards the end and of course, Angelina Jolie. It seems a lot of people thought the same as me because it did rather well for an R-Rated movie. It is the second biggest opening that didn’t reach number #1 (damn you Wall-E!) and has already made back its budget with a total of $90 million as I type.

Universal are currently choking on money, and when they finally spit it out there is a good chance they will be wanting more. (See what I did there? The movie is called Wanted and I said ‘wanting’ and made it italic…I’m hilarious!)

Cinema Blend are saying that a source told them that Universal want to go international next time round. Spoilers below.

For the sequels their idea is to take Wanted international, and have James McAvoy’s Wesley character fighting Fraternity cells all over the world. It seems Sloane isn’t the only Fraternity leader who has been ignoring the instructions of fate, it’s something that’s been happening for centuries, and that means a lot of Sloane’s peers are now pretty pissed off at Wesley.

They also say:

It’s surprising, since by the end of the film both Jolie and Freeman’s characters are quite definitively dead. That’s no barrier for Hollywood though. The plan is to involve them in flashbacks which will explore the past of Angelina Jolie’s Fox, and allow us to meet the man who trained and recruited her. That person could become a major villain in the sequels, which would explain the flashback links to Jolie and Freeman.

Bring it on I say!