Man, I’d love to know how the meeting went down that put Timur Bekmambetov in charge of Wanted, due out next spring, starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Scot-of-the-moment James McAvoy, who is in every single movie released in 2007.
Not that I think it’s a bad idea. Bekmambetov is the Russian action-auteur behind the beguiling, frustrating Night Watch and Day Watch, which I’ve blogged about before. He’s got a wild visual imagination and some very Russian ideas about storytelling, which who even knows if they’ll translate to the West. The storyline involves an office drone-turned-super assassin. Not bad for a start. Could be The Matrix, could be Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. (No, he didn’t go there! But he did.)
But I’m eager to find out what Bekmambetov will do with an actual budget and big stars. Apparently somebody else is too. Some striking early stills from Wanted are here.
Update: Trailer is here.