We haven’t heard anything about the sequel to Wanted for months, which had led many to assume that the long-gestating and slightly troubled movie was dead in the water. The whole thing nearly got cancelled when Angelina Jolie walked over a year ago, but while its limped along, it hasn’t really ever looked close to happening.
However, now Universal Pictures has hired the screenwriters of the first movie, Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, to take over scripting duties from Evan Spiliotopoulos, who was brought onboard way back in April 2009. Derek Haas revealed the news himself on Twitter, saying “Michael and I were just hired by Uni to write WANTED 2.” He also said that Jolie’s character is definitely still out, as is the loom that was a key part of the first movie.
It’s also unclear is Timur Bekmambetov is still involved in the movie. He worked for over two years to try and get Wanted 2 going, but then went off to make Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. We’ll have to wait and see whether he returns now the script is moving forward.