Few know that the 2008 movie Wanted (starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and
Common) was based on an ever-expanding comic book universe created by Mark Millar, or Millarworld. The universe is expanding further, bringing about one of the biggest crossover events in comic book history, introducing many characters from the different parts of Millarworld face-to-face for the first time. Mark Millar’s Big Game is a direct sequel to the Wanted series and could inspire a Wanted 2 movie. Maybe.
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Wanted
First published by Top Cow in 2003, Mark Millar’s first comic book with artist J.G. Jones is considered the cornerstone of Millarworld. The comic is set in a universe where all the superheroes we read about were real until 1986. Once there weren’t any superheroes left in the world, supervillains had no need to hide behind their masks, so they became the engineers of war and famine in the world and other ways to control humanity, ruling us from the shadows and using politicians as puppets.
Wanted tells the story of a protagonist who discovers he is the son of a successful, professional assassin who has superhuman killing abilities and that he has inherited them from his father. Breaking away from the bore of everyday life as an office worker, he decides to follow in his father’s footsteps, or rather he gets sucked into the world of assassins and discovers he was born for it.
In 2008 the Wanted movie hit theatres and was widely considered a success, earning at least $342 million at the box office. Millar himself loved the first movie, and as much as he would love to see a sequel in the future, it might be too ambitious for any studio to pull off.
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Big Game
It was recently revealed that Mark Millar is adding to his Millarworld with a brand new comic book adventure called Big Game that will bring many “unexpected” characters together for the first time from all the different facets of Millarworld.
The new comic book series will reportedly serve as a direct sequel to Wanted, and it seems fitting that the new series will be arriving during the 20th anniversary of his first book. Big Game #1 will be gracing the shelves of comic book stores worldwide on Wednesday, the 19th of July, 2023.
During an exclusive interview with Mark Millar and Pepe Larraz, the artist responsible for helping Millar bring Big Game to life, CBR managed to uncover a few tidbits on what we can expect from Big Game, as well as whether Millar expects the new series to ever turn into a movie for Wanted 2.
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Wanted 2
While Millar loved the first movie, he shared during the interview with CBR that the movie felt too self-contained, a trait that would never survive if a crossover as big as Big Game were to be brought to life.
If they were to turn Big Game into a live-action adaptation like Wanted 2, it could never be just one movie. Millar said, “It would have to be a miniseries or two movies.”
Another aspect is that the comic book is so new that it would take time to get the franchise up and running first, and only then would it be possible. “It would be so far down the line,” Millar continued. “It would be at least 10 years away.”
The logistics of setting up a sequel would also be a nightmare, like being able to afford all the high-profile actors and see them in one movie and getting each person responsible for each franchise on board.
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While he would love to see that happen, Millar shared that he doesn’t mind Big Game or Wanted 2 remaining a comic, saying, “The comic should be the ultimate art form.” However, he appreciates how live-action movies tend to revive comic book series with enthusiastic readers.
If you are hoping for a Wanted 2 sequel, you might have a long while to wait, but in the meantime, busy yourself by giving Big Game a chance, and it should do more than a good job of holding you over while you wait!