With rising star James McAvoy starring opposite Hollywood starlet Angeline Jolie, a high-octane premise that kicks physics to the kerb, not to mention a respective box office haul of around $340 million, you’d be forgiven for believing that a direct sequel to Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted was set in stone. However, in the six years that have lapsed since the release of the original, there is still no concrete sign of a Wanted 2.
Granted, members of the cast and crew have been vocal about the follow-up’s chances in the past, even going so far as to hinting that a potential sequel could continue the bullet-bending action with those two aforementioned stars, McAvoy and Jolie. Couple this with Universal’s most recent statement citing that the studio was waiting on the right script and Wanted 2 showcases all the symptoms of a sequel that has irrefutably stalled during development for one reason or another.
But according to Bekmambetov, there is a sliver of hope that the sequel will secure a greenlight – even if it is just a sliver – after revealing to Collider that a first script is already complete, meaning that the fate of the project rests in the hands of Universal.
For my part I already have the concept of the new story. I have all the screenwriters and co-producers on board. I’ve seen that some websites have even posted the posters of Wanted 2! I think there are a lot of people waiting for the second part of the story we’ve made in 2008. Unfortunately, Universal is still thinking about the possible dates of the pre-production start. I know that the movie should be released, but it’s all up to Universal to decide when is it going to happen. The studio is still deciding.
One can’t help but feel that the longer Universal sit on Wanted 2 the less likely it will be that a sequel will ever materialize. How and ever, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that Bekmambetov’s gets to venture behind the camera once more to explore further into the Fraternity and their bullet-bending ways.
