James McAvoy Says Wanted 2 Likely Won't Happen
Posted 04.15.11 by Ryan
Plans for Wanted 2 began as soon as Wanted scored $341 million in worldwide box office in 2008. Bringing back the principal cast would be difficult, but, a year later, director Timur Bekmambetov revealed that he had devised a plan that would bring back Angelina Jolie, even after her character perished in the original movie (sorry if that's a spoiler, but, really, the movie came out in 2008).
Whatever Bekmambetov's plan was, Jolie obviously wasn't in love with it, and pulled out of the sequel last February (she later explained that she preferred to stay dead since her character did, in fact, die). A decision was made to move on without Jolie, with comic book creator Mark Millar revealing that he didn't see why they couldn't replace Jolie's character with "another cool character."
More recently, Bekmambetov revealed last August that they were "discussing Wanted 2 every month" and that progress might resume the director finishes work on his upcoming adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Millar countered less positively a month later, remarking that "if it happens, great. If it doesn’t, I’m not bothered."
IGN recently spoke to Wanted actor James McAvoy about the possibility of Wanted 2, and McAvoy's comments didn't sound like a sequel was around the corner.
Wanted 2? I don't know what's happening. I know that the script came out a while back which I don't think they were happy with in the end. I don't think Angelina was up for doing it. I mean, that is kind of why she got herself killed in the first one.
I think that if you are going to go without the guaranteed box office draw of Angelina then you need to have an amazing script and an amazing story. I think the studio is keen to make it, and we really want to make it, but we want to make it if it's right and when it's right, and that might not be ever.
McAvoy wondered where a sequel might go, explaining that Wanted told a fairly contained story.
The reason I did the first film was because I thought it was a really good acting role, and no matter whether it made lots of money or ultimately was a good action movie, I knew I'd have a good time doing it as an actor. I would hope that would be the case in the second one. My worry was always that if we do a sequel, where is the character going to go? We hung our movie off this guy's life journey, and he's had that life journey now, so what do you hang the movie off?
McAvoy did have ideas for another Wanted, albeit one that didn't include the actor or his character but perhaps a "whole new kid."
Maybe they'll do it in the future with a whole new kid — a new lead character. And the premise of the Wanted movies is how becoming an assassin changed my life.But it was a good time, and a good movie, but in a way, I'm glad that not everything has to be a franchise.
While we're glad they're not forcing yet another sequel into being, McAvoy's comments have to be a bummer for Wanted fans that were hoping for another installment.