James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman star in this underrated comic book action movie from 2008 that just became available to stream on Netflix. Not all comic book movies fall under the umbrella of Marvel Studios or DC Studios, especially back in 2008 when both these studios’ shared franchises were still fledgling or not even planned. Adapted from Mark Millar and J. G. Jones’ comic miniseries that ran for six issues between 2003 and 2005, this live-action adaptation was high-octane, stylish, and energetic, and well worth a watch now it’s hit Netflix.
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Originally release in June 2008, Wanted featured James McAvoy as meek office-worker Wesley Allan Gibson, who learns he is an heir to a career as an assassin with a secret society known as the Fraternity. He teams up with mentor Fox (Jolie) and Fraternity leader Mr. Sloan (Freeman) to battle Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), a rogue assassin who turned against the Fraternity. Universal Pictures and director Timur Bekmambetov made many changes to Millar and Jones’ 2003 comic miniseries, which relied more heavily on the superhuman aspects of the story, but the movie was still a surprising success.
Wanted grossed a total of $342.5 million at the global box office on a budget of only $75 million, and received a mostly positive response from audiences and critics, earning a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Wanted first hit Netflix in May 2018, a decade after its original release, and its since been removed and added four times in the years since. It’s return to the streaming platform means fresh audiences can now catch Wanted, perhaps drawing more attention to comic book movies outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe.
Rewatching Wanted on Netflix could lead audiences to comic book movies such as 2010’s Kick-Ass, 2005’s Sin City, 1994’s The Crow, or 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, all of which (and more) were adapted from comics not affiliated with the mainstream Marvel or DC timelines. This could introduce a sense of variety and excitement that could, in turn, reinvigorate interest in the MCU and DCU themselves. Wanted might have put McAvoy and Jolie on the superhero map, leading both to taking on Marvel roles soon after, so has an important place in comic book movie history.
James McAvoy went on to play the younger version of Charles Xavier’s Professor X between 2011’s X-Men: First Class and 2019’s Dark Phoenix, while Angelina Jolie starred as Thena in 2021’s Eternals. Wanted demonstrated just how incredible these stars, as well as Kretschmann and even Chris Pratt – who played Baron Von Strucker and Peter Quill’s Star-Lord, respectively – could be in comic book movies. Now it’s released on Netflix, you can look back on Wanted and admire just how far there stars have come.
Have you watched 2008’s Wanted on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!
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