Last week’s news that scribe Evan Spiliotopoulos (Pooh’s Heffalump Movie) had been hired to pen the sequel to Wanted surprised quite a few people. However, comic creator and film producer Mark Millar quelled all fears, saying that the scribe “did a GREAT action script recently (on an unproduced movie) and that’s what got him this gig.”
He adds that the sequel is being made in a very tight circle at the moment and that they have a lot of money to “spend on everything from cast to crew to script.”
The sequel is expected out next year. Star James McAvoy and director Timur Bekmambetov are expected to return.
It appears that Mark Millar’s (Wanted) eight-hour trilogy plans to reboot the Superman franchise won’t be happening. He revealed that not only did the studio shoot down his pitch, but the whole franchise has been stalled.
"Warner’s talked to us and a few other writer/ director teams, but things seem to be in stasis right now,” he said. “As far as I understand, nothing is happening with Superman at the moment and so the director and I are just working on another project.
“If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, no biggie. Kick-Ass taught me that creating your own stuff can be at least as much fun and you don’t have to answer to anyone. It’s the future, baby.”
In heavy demand since the release of the blockbuster Wanted, Mark Millar will have one more of his comic series adapted: War Heroes.
Picked up by Sony Pictures and producer Michael DeLuca, the film will be adapted from Millar’s six issue comic mini-series that tells the story of a governmental military program that grants ordinary soldiers superpowers. A small group of these soldiers break away from the government to form a criminal group. However, a hero also rises from their ranks to prevent catastrophes from happening.
They are currently looking for a writer to translate the comic to the big-screen. No start date on the project has been set.
Talking to Newsrama, Mark Millar let out some details about Wanted 2 and possibly Wanted 3.
Millar disclosed that he was approached right after the premier by producer Mark Platt. He shared his thoughts on continuing the story:
What I will be doing is providing them with a very small amount of stuff for a story, and that will be used as a basic story that they can build from. It will be a small outline that can possibly be picked apart and not used – but it will be something exclusively for the second film, and no one will ever really see it.
The film version of Wanted was a major departure from the comic book that was about supervillains wiping the memories of superheroes off everyone’s minds. The film’s sequel, Millar points out, will feature elements of chapters three and four from the comic book, though it will be there in the “loosest sense” possible.
The Superman franchise had had an excellent revamp with Superman Returns released a couple of years back, but Mark Millar (Wanted) said he was going to pitch his vision of the franchise to Warner Bros. However, it now seems he is taking it one step further: he’s gotten himself a director and producer set up for his vision.
He said that the Superman brand is “toxic after that last movie lost $200 million, but in 2011 we’re hoping to restart it.”
"Sadly I can’t say who the director is,” he teased, “but we may make it official by Christmas.”
"But fingers crossed it could work out, that would be my lifetime’s dream."
The sequel to Returns is said to be in development at the time. No release date is attached to the project.
Hot off finishing Wanted, Mark Millar sat down with Comic Book Resources and revealed that he is already working on another project: the film version of Kick Ass, which he co-wrote. Millar disclosed that pre-production on the movie is almost complete, noting that the script was finished six months ago and that casting is now complete with two ‘big names’ attached. He also revealed himself to be involved as a producer for about eight months.
He notes that smaller roles have also been filled, such as “the kids who show up at the end of Issue #3.” Filming is scheduled to begin in New York this August.