When Angelina Jolie decided against returning for a sequel to Wanted, the 2008 movie which made $350 million worldwide, it effectively killed any momentum it had. However last September Universal re-hired Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, writers of the first film, and the project appeared to be alive and well again.
Now, while on the rounds promoting Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, director Timur Bekmambetov has given an update on the movie, and says it will be “shocking” and involve a “great twist”.
From The Playlist:
“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.”
“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.”
Movement on the next film may be partly due to James McAvoy’s recent success in X-Men: First Class. After the actor played Wesley Gibson in 2008 he mainly appeared in low-budget dramas such as The Last Station and The Conspirator, but with McAvoy (and Fassbender) leading First Class to $350m worldwide it may have given Universal more confidence in McAvoy to carry a Wanted sequel without Angelina Jolie.
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