Is Wanted 2 Happening, Or Are We Done Curving Bullets?

Timur Bekmambatov's 2008 action thriller "Wanted" might be one of the more outlandish films of its era. Based very, very loosely on the comic book by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, "Wanted" was about a put-upon office wonk named Wesley (James McAvoy) who learns from a mysterious babe named Fox (Angelina Jolie) that his father was secretly an assassin and that he has inherited secret assassin superpowers. Without much concentration, Wesley can shoot the wings off of flies, something he never knew he could do. Wesley is then inducted into a secret assassin's guild called the Fraternity. There, he is trained to shoot bullets in such a way that their paths curve. 

This is a standard "chosen one" plot. Do you think you're plain and ordinary? It turns out you're a secret assassin who is wanted (get it?) by both the world at large and by Angelina Jolie.

The Fraternity is run by the mysterious Mr. Sloane (Morgan Freeman) who takes instructions from ... are you sitting down? ... a magical loom. Yes, there is a loom in the attic of the Fraternity and its random weavings somehow reach into the very fabric of the universe and give secret messages about who should live and who should die. The Fraternity commits acts of violence based largely on the caprices of textiles. 

Comic book fans are likely wailing at the massive differences between the film and the source material. We'll address those below.

"Wanted," for however silly it is, was a massive hit, making over $342 million worldwide. 15 years later, however, there has still been no sequel. Let's delve into what we currently know about a "Wanted 2," if it's still happening, and what the filmmakers have said.

Mark Millar's original comics had a different premise than the movie. In the comics, the Fraternity was not an assassin's guild, but a gathering of costumed supervillains. The world of Millar's "Wanted" was a full-blown superhero universe, just one wherein all superheroes had been wiped out. The remaining supervillains took over the world, erasing all evidence that superheroes ever existed. The implication is that we mere humans live in a world secretly run by evil victors. The Morgan Freeman character was originally a twisted scientist. The loom was invented for the movie. Also, the "bullet bending" conceit wasn't part of the comics.

There were plans to make a "Wanted 2" before the first "Wanted" was even in theaters. The sequel immediately experienced a setback when, in 2009, the film's original screenwriter, Chris Morgan, dropped out because he was just too darn busy. Morgan, it should be noted, is a credited screenwriter on most of the "Fast & Furious" movies. Drifting cars, it seems, took more time and attention than curving bullets. He noted at the time that he was busy writing a film based on the video game "Gears of War" as well as "a samurai movie for Universal." That movie ended up being the Keanu Reeves vehicle "47 Ronin."

Also, a few years later, despite some reports to the contrary, Angelina Jolie dropped out of the project, requiring a massive script overhaul; Fox was to be the film's main character. It was then that /Film reported that "Wanted 2" was officially dead. Eventually, Bekmambetov left as well to go work on "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." It seemed that everyone's interest merely cooled.

Way back in 2008, even before the release of "Wanted," director Bekmambetov was talking about making a sequel ("Wanted" star Common also said at the time that he would be interested in returning). The director even planned a budget and a shooting location. "Wanted 2" was to cost a hefty $150 million and was to be shot in the director's native Russia. McAvoy was asked about "Wanted 2" often in the years immediately following the first movie's release. The actor said he was interested in making "Wanted 2," having had fun the first time. He also liked the idea that his character, Wesley, wasn't going to be the protagonist in "Wanted 2."

Bekmambetov never let go of the idea, however, and has popped up from time to time to announce that he's been thinking about "Wanted 2" periodically. As recently as 2020, the director noted that he could easily make a "Wanted 2" in the relatively new "screenlife" format. That is: all of the thrills would be witnessed as if the cinema audiences are seeing it on an in-universe screen. Films like "Searching," "Host," and "Unfriended" have used this visual gimmick. This was in response to the evolving technology of the time. "I cannot imagine an assassin in today's world would run with a gun," Bekmambetov was quoted as saying. "He will use drones, he will use computer technology, probably." Screenlife would make just as much sense. Assassination, it seems, will involve less globe-trekking and more office work. How poetic would it be if Wesley was rescued from a cubicle job just to end up back in the same place?

Bekmambetov repeated the "screenlife" idea in a recent interview with SyFy. The director expressed even more explicitly that humans now life their lives on screens and that assassins would most certainly be in line with the times:

"The Fraternity now, if it exist[ed] today, I'm sure would be in [the] digital space. [...] They can get messages, the names from some hackers [...] they will use blockchain to set up the assassinations. We live in a different world now. [Since] 2008, I am sure our world is not about guns or explosive materials anymore. It's about the information, it's about the big data, blockchain, dark web, cryptocurrency. It's where we live now."

Screenwriters Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, in 2012, were still working on a script, having taken over from Evan Spiliotopoulos, who was, in 2011, the screenwriter who took over the project from Chris Morgan. Haas and Brandt noted that the new "Wanted 2" idea was to pivot away from Jolie's character and focus on an all-new character. Wesley, now four years wiser, would serve as this new character's mentor. The roles would be reversed, with McAvoy taking over the Morgan Freeman position, and the new upstart being the sad sack whose life was turned around by her induction into the Fraternity.

It's worth noting that Fox was actually shot in the head in the first "Wanted," and was presumed dead. Given the oddball nature of the movie, and the semi-supernatural conceit of bullet-bending assassins, however, her death was more of an inconvenience than a permanent state of being. Despite this, Fox was out and a new character was in.

There were rumors floating around for years, at least as early as 2010, that the new character would be played by Kristen Stewart. Many people felt this decision risible, as in 2010 Stewart was still best known for her role in the "Twilight" movies. She hadn't yet emerged as one of the most interesting and talented actors of her generation. /Film even called her casting the worst idea ever. In 2023, we can likely say that Stewart would have handled the role with aplomb.

In 2015, Universal was certainly still interested in making "Wanted 2," as they were still, even after she had repeatedly said no, courting Angelina Jolie. This was after the studio had been aggressively asking her to take part in the ambitious Dark Universe project, wherein she would play the Bride of Frankenstein. It's worth remembering that a vast, interconnected cinematic universe of Universal monsters isn't a bad idea in itself. Although that may be hard to recall, given how badly the Dark Universe debut film, "The Mummy," was received. Jolie, however, hasn't been closely associated with "Wanted 2" for many years.

Stewart's participation was little more than a rumor, so the "young upstart" character was never officially cast. The only actors who seem likely to return would be McAvoy and Common. According to McAvoy, Universal is just waiting for the right screenplay.

Morgan Freeman has expressed no views on "Wanted 2."