I never thought one actress’ presence would mean so much to the life of a project, especially an acress whose character died at the end of its predecessor. Yes, folks, that’s a spoiler for Timur Bekmambetov’s 2008 hit WANTED, and, if you haven’t seen it already, then you probably don’t care that its sequel has hit a brick wall.
Vulture is reporting that Angelina Jolie leaving the project for Alfonso Cuaron’s next film, GRAVITY, is putting Universal in a loop. Instead of recasting the part, or even writing her out completely (she’s dead, remember?), they are pulling the plug altogether. This could be an instinctive reaction on Universal’s part, since GRAVITY was, at one time there’s, and they put it in turnaround.
GRAVITY, now under the Warner Brothers umbrella, tells the story of a woman on a space station who is attempting to get back to Earth and her daughter. The film poses an interesting challenge, as Jolie’s character is, essentially, the only character in the film for large chunks of the film. With Cuaron on board to, though, I’m sure the film will be breathtaking to say the very least.
As for WANTED 2, die hard fans might not have to cry in their beer just yet. Universal may revisit the idea of the project down the road a tick, rewriting it around Jolie’s character, casting a new actress in the part, or just waiting for Jolie to come around and take on the role again. Bad blood at Universal may stop the latter form happening, but you never know. A burnt bridge today usually ends up flourishing into a Golden Gate somewhere down the line.
