Trivia / Wanted

The Movie:

• Development Hell/Stillborn Franchise: The film was supposed to get a sequel, yet everyone involved in it got so busy that the producer has since said the movie "will not happen any time soon if at all." James McAvoy then admitted that while he is still interested, the time in development hell and the studio's struggles to find a suitable script are all red flags.
• Dyeing for Your Art: James McAvoy worked out to improve his physique for the film's action scenes, and suffered several injuries during shooting, including a twisted ankle, and an injured knee.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Be honest. When was the last time you saw Morgan Freeman play the Big Bad?
  • You wouldn't expect a slim, 5'7", non-macho actor be the jacked-up star of an action movie, but James McAvoy got to do just that.
• Playing with Character Type: Freeman initially appears to be playing the same kindly, wise old man character he always plays. Turns out he's the villain.
• Production Posse: As the movie was produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Konstantin Khabensky appearing in it in some capacity was pretty much a given. When the movie was released in Russia, a popular joke was that the entire movie was made just so that Khabensky would see Angelina Jolie naked.
• Referenced by...: In X-Men: First Class, the camera angle when we first see a close-up of Charles Xavier (portrayed by James McAvoy) holding a gun is reminiscent of Wanted's final scene.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Ryan Phillippe was attached to the role of Wesley.
  • Halle Berry (upon whom the character was modeled in the comics), Jessica Biel, Jada Pinkett and Beyoncé were considered for the role of Fox.

The Comic Book:

• Flip-Flop of God: The comic itself implied through Lawyer Friendly Cameos that the pre-Cosmic Retcon universe was an approximation of the DC Universe, with varying degrees of Expy Coexistence happening. Later, Mark Millar revealed that the superhero universe was that of his later comic Jupiter's Legacy, and the red cape Seltzer kept hold of actually belonged to the Utopian, not Superman. However, Big Game (2023) Retconned this so the Flying Brick that was Seltzer's Arch-Enemy was still implied to be Superman, while the Utopian was an Alternate Self that existed in a Show Within a Show in the Millarworld.
• Inspiration for the Work: The series was born as a practical joke by Mark Millar's older brother who told him that comic books were once real, but the villains won and rewrote history into the world we live in.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The comic started life as a rejected pitch for an Elseworlds featuring the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Elements of this are still visible, such as basically the entire cast being Expies of various DC villains and heroes.
  • The original Killer was initially designed to be bald with a goatee, and a heavily scarred scalp. He was redesigned to resemble Tommy Lee Jones.
  • Mr. Rictus was originally known as "The Martyr" and had lips. Removing them and giving him his eponymous rictus grin might've been to make him more Practically Joker.

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