After breaking out on Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), Chris Pratt has become one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster stars, playing Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy (2014–2023) and Owen Grady in the Jurassic World trilogy (2015–2022). James McAvoy, on the other hand, has also starred in franchises, first gaining recognition as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) before playing a younger Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies (2011–2019).
In 2008, the two teamed up for Wanted. Loosely based on the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, the action thriller stars James McAvoy as Wesley Allan Gibson, a frustrated office worker who discovers he is the son of a professional assassin and shares his superhuman killing abilities. Chris Pratt plays Barry, Wesley’s co-worker and unfaithful best friend.
Pratt & McAvoy’s Wanted Is Racing Its Way Up Starz’s Top 10
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James Mcavoy, Common and Angelina Jolie in Wanted 2008 -
Angelina Jolie shooting a gun over a car in Wanted -
Angelina Jolie in Wanted (2008)
Almost two decades after its release, Wanted is now No. 9 on the Top 10 movies on Starz in the United States as of today, October 8. It ranks below Oscar Shaw, Alarum, In the Grey, The Furious, Michael, Shelter, Trouble Man!, Cradle 2 the Grave, and above Hostile Takeover.
It also ranks No. 10 on their Top 10 overall movies and TV shows, below Oscar Shaw, S.W.A.T. Exiles, The Furious, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, In the Grey, Alarum, Any Given Sunday, Michael, and Stuber.
Wanted is also streaming on Hulu.
Will The Sequel Ever Happen?
At the time of its release, Wanted reviews were mostly positive, resulting in a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it stylish and high-octane popcorn entertainment with witty performances from Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman, which help distract from its wildly over-the-top plot. Wanted was also a box office hit, grossing $342 million worldwide against its $75 million budget.
In turn, a sequel was announced soon after the film’s release, though the project eventually became trapped in development limbo. In June 2009, it looked like everything was in place for Wanted 2 to start filming, though Angelina Jolie reportedly pulled out of the sequel, requiring rewrites to the script to remove her character, Fox.
In 2011, producer Jim Lemley said that “Wanted 2 sounds like it will not happen any time soon, if at all.” Universal later brought screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas back to write the sequel, though the studio still seems to be waiting for the right script. For now, fans may have to settle for a rewatch of Wanted and wonder what could have been if the long-awaited sequel had ever made it off the drawing board.
R
ActionThrillerCrime
Release Date
June 19, 2008
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
Timur Bekmambetov
Writers
Chris Morgan, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, Mark Millar, J.G. Jones
Producers
Iain Smith, Jason Netter, Jim Lemley, Marc Platt
James McAvoy
Wesley Gibson
Angelina Jolie
Fox
