Wanted is a 2008 American action thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, and Chris Morgan, loosely based on the 2003–05 comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, and Angelina Jolie. The film revolves around Wesley Allan Gibson, who decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins, after learning that his father was a member of the Fraternity.
Universal Pictures acquired the adaptation rights from Millar in 2004, and while the eventual script drifted from the comic book superhero mythos in the original miniseries, he was content to see most of the comic's darker content retained. Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and the story's main setting, Chicago. Bekmambetov's production company, Bazelevs Production, provided the majority of the film's visual effects. Danny Elfman scored the film, employing a guitar-based musical score.
Wanted opened on June 27, 2008, to positive reviews with praise for its fast-pace narrative and stylized action sequences. The film grossed $342 million worldwide. A sequel was announced shortly after the film's release, but ultimately stalled in development.
Plot
In Chicago, Wesley Allan Gibson works at a dead-end desk job with an overbearing boss, takes medication for panic attacks, and lives with his abrasive girlfriend Cathy who cheats on him with his co-worker and best friend, Barry.
One evening, Wesley is told by a woman named Fox that his recently murdered father was an assassin, and that his killer, Cross, is now hunting him. When Cross and Fox engage in a shootout, Wesley panics and flees. Cross pursues Wesley, who Fox manages to help escape. Wesley awakens in a factory surrounded by Fox and other assassins.
The group's leader, Mr. Sloan, forces Wesley at gunpoint to shoot the wings off several flies, which he does. Sloan explains that Wesley's panic attacks are actually a rare ability that allows him to produce massive amounts of adrenaline, granting him superhuman strength and speed. Wesley's father and Cross were members of the Fraternity, a society of assassins that maintains balance in the world, headquartered in a repurposed textile mill. Sloan wants to train Wesley so that he may help kill Cross.
A panicked Wesley leaves the building. The next morning, he discovers that his bank account now contains millions of dollars. Filled with new confidence, he insults his abusive boss in front of the whole office and hits Barry with a keyboard. Wesley trains under the Fraternity's cruel tutelage, learning to control his abilities. When his training is complete, Sloan shows him the "Loom of Fate", which has served for 1,000 years in supplying coded names of targets through deliberate imperfections in the fabric. The Loom identifies those who will create evil and chaos in the future, with Sloan responsible for interpreting the code.
After several successful missions, Wesley has an unexpected shootout with Cross, and accidentally kills the Exterminator. Sloan sends Wesley after Cross—and secretly gives Fox a mission to kill Wesley, saying that his name has come up in the Loom. Wesley realizes that Cross used a traceable bullet for the first time (as his previous kills were all untraceable). Wesley traces it to a man named Pekwarsky. He and Fox capture Pekwarsky, who arranges a meeting with Cross. Wesley faces Cross alone on a moving train, which Fox later causes to derail. While Cross saves Wesley from falling, Wesley shoots him. Before dying, Cross reveals that he is Wesley's real father. Wesley was recruited because he was the only person Cross would not kill. After free-falling into a river, Wesley is retrieved by Pekwarsky, who explains that Sloan started manufacturing targets for profit after his name appeared in the Loom. Cross discovered the truth, went rogue, and started killing Fraternity members to keep them away from his son.
In order to finish what his father started, Wesley decides to kill Sloan. He attacks the base using explosive rats and kills the surviving Fraternity assassins in a shootout. Entering Sloan's office, he is surrounded by Fox and the remaining assassins. Wesley discloses Sloan's deception, and Sloan admits his name appeared in the Loom alongside the names of those present, saying he had acted to protect them. He gives the members a choice: kill themselves, per the code, or kill Wesley and use their skills to control the world. As the others choose to kill Wesley, Fox curves a bullet around the room, choosing to follow the code and kill everyone, including herself, and Sloan escapes in the mayhem.
Wesley, penniless again due to his bank account being wiped out by Sloan, apparently returns to his desk job. Sloan arrives to kill him but is shocked when the person is revealed to be a decoy. Wesley subsequently kills Sloan with a sniper rifle from Cross' apartment miles away. After professing his newfound free will, Wesley looks at the audience and asks "what the fuck have you done lately".
Cast James McAvoy as Wesley Allan Gibson, a meek 24-year-old who works in a cubicle but learns he is heir to a career as an assassin. Angelina Jolie as Fox, an accomplished member of the Fraternity and zealous follower of their code who mentors Wesley. Morgan Freeman as Mr. Sloan, leader of the Fraternity and former partner of Mr. X. Thomas Kretschmann as Cross Gibson, a rogue assassin who has left the Fraternity. Common as Earl Malcolm Spellman / The Gunsmith, a professional gunman who trains others to use weapons. Konstantin Khabensky as The Exterminator, an expert in explosives who makes bombs and attaches them to rats. Marc Warren as The Repairman, an assassin who says he "breaks bad habits" of trainees by violently beating them. Dato Bakhtadze as The Butcher, a knife-expert who trains Wesley in knife fighting. Terence Stamp as Pekwarsky, a master in the science of killing. He operates as a rogue agent outside of The Fraternity and is also a bullet maker. David O'Hara as Mr. X, the first Fraternity member who is said to be the greatest assassin. Chris Pratt as Barry, Wesley's co-worker and unfaithful best friend. Kristen Hager as Cathy, Wesley's unfaithful girlfriend. Sophiya Haque as Puja Lorna Scott as Janice, Wesley's abusive boss.
Production
Development and pre-production The comic book miniseries Wanted (2003–2004), by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones, came to the attention of Universal Pictures through executive Jeff Kirschenbaum, a comic book fan who sought a film adaptation that would be considered a "hard-R" and encouraged the studio to pick up the rights to the miniseries. By 2004, producer Marc Platt had gotten the film rights, and lobbied the studio to get Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov, as Platt considered that the visual style and sensibility Bekmambetov showed in Night Watch (2004) and its sequel Day Watch (2006) fit Wanted in the sense that "the comic is dark and edgy but it also has an ironic, comedic tone beneath its violent action." In December 2005, Bekmambetov was hired to direct, his first English-language film, and writers Derek Haas and Michael Brandt were assigned the script. Bekmambetov described the original comic as "risky and very provocative", with "a twist and good characters", and declared that the thing that attracted him the most in Wanted was how it went through various film genres in its plot: "It's a comedy, a tragedy, a drama, a melodrama. Every scene, we change genres and that's why our movie is different."
Universal was initially reluctant on giving a potentially lucrative action film to a filmmaker who had never made an English-language film, but Platt convinced the studio that he could "create an environment that would allow Timur to be himself as a filmmaker and exercise his creative muscles."
Millar was unhappy with the first draft of the screenplay, considering the approach to be "too tame" and "a little bit Americanized" given he wanted "basically be the opposite of the Spider-Man movie, the idea of someone getting powers and realizing they can do what they want, then choosing the dark path." The author only started to support the direction the project was taking once Bekmambetov "came in with his Eastern European madness" and the intention of coming closer to the spirit of the book. Bekmambetov said that he would take liberty in adapting the comic book's world: "It's difficult for me to just follow. It's interesting for me to create. I feel a little bit different how this world has to be executed." In July 2006, screenwriter Chris Morgan was hired to revise the third act of Haas and Brandt's script. Haas and Brandt returned to refine the character of Wesley Allan Gibson, which they had established in their first draft.
Millar saw previsualized footage of the film and said that it exceeded his expectations for the adaptation. He described its first half as being close to the source comic, and added the ending was similar though it was relocated elsewhere from the comic's original setting. The superhero costumes in the series were also removed, with the exception of the leather attire worn by Wesley and Fox. Incidentally, this had been Millar's intent when writing the miniseries, but he and artist J. G. Jones had forgotten to. Millar said, "I wanted them to have those powers and then just wear those costumes for the initiation, but just for one panel. And then I forgot." Millar also stated that he would have liked to keep the supervillain mythos that dictates the original comic in the film. Millar was favorable to most of the changes in the storyline, which includes the story arc of the Fates issuing death orders in line with the series' original theme of predestination.
Casting
James McAvoy, who had screen-tested for the lead role early in 2006, was initially rejected because the studio was seeking an actor with conventional Hollywood leading man looks and physique. McAvoy was later recalled, being considered to be the "runt of the litter" among those who tested. According to McAvoy, "They [ultimately] wanted someone geeky." McAvoy was cast in the role in October 2006. The Scottish actor, who portrays an American in the film, worked out to improve his physique for the film's action scenes, and suffered several injuries during shooting which included a twisted ankle and an injured knee.
Angelina Jolie was cast in March 2007, after screenwriter Dean Georgaris rewrote the screenplay to tailor the role of Fox for her. Mark Millar became much more enthusiastic about the project after learning that Jolie had accepted the role of Fox, saying "the only way they could have got a bigger star to play this role is if they'd hired Tom Cruise in drag." Jolie decided to make Fox seem "distant and unattainable" by having her silent in many scenes. She mentioned Clint Eastwood, who had recently directed her in the film Changeling, as a possible influence for this aspect of her performance. Furthermore, she asked for Fox to get killed, suggesting that "[i]f she was to find out she had killed people unjustly and was a part of something that wasn't fair, then she should take her own life." Although she had "13 known tattoos," she felt the need to add some temporary ink to that collection for her role in this film.