The writers of the film Wanted have been rehired to work on the script for a sequel.

Derek Haas and Michael Brandt will rewrite Evan Spiliotopoulos’ screenplay for Wanted 2.

“Wanted 2 is going to take off after the events of what just happened. Pick up Wesley a few years later and go back in for another round,” Haas told TheWrap.

“We just always loved the Wanted world and loved working with Universal and [director] Timur [Bekmambetov] on the first one, so we’re excited.”

Haas said there was no director attached yet, although as you might have guessed from his statement above he’d be happy to work with Bekmambetov again. “But he’s a busy guy,” Haas added.

James McAvoy starred in the 2008 comic-book movie about a lowly office worker who discovers he has unusual abilities that make him the perfect assassin.

The two writers are clearly seen as hitmen themselves by film studio Universal, with the first movie making $341m on a $75m budget.

Will McAvoy return, though?

The actor is filming Trance right now, while his next movie Filth is currently in pre-production and he’s also been named as the favourite to play Elton John in the biopic? Rocketman.

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If the rumours are to believed, then Scottish actor James McAvoy might be set to take on the role of legendary singer Elton John, in a movie following the story of the star’s rise to fame.

The upcoming movie, titled ”Rocketman”, is reportedly being written by the man who penned the screenplay for ”Billy Elliot”, Lee Hall. Elton John himself will act as executive producer on the project, whilst a number of his hit songs are thought to be being included within the narrative itself.

This will be the second time that John has worked alongside Hall, as he was also involved in composing the score for the West End theatre adaptation of ”Billy Elliot”, which took place in 2000. Still, there are plenty of Elton John classics for Hall to choose from, and it is thought that the movie will not be without big hits like ‘Candle In The Wind’ and, of course, ‘Rocket Man’. It has not yet been confirmed who will take on the role of the eccentric singer, but McAvoy is certainly tipped to be one of the preferred choices.

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Yesterday we reported from Variety that James McAvoy was in “early talks” to star in Danny Boyle‘s 127 Hours follow-up, Trance. We’ve just received word straight from Fox Searchlight that he is confirmed to be in talks, but in a different role than his X-Men: First Class co-star Michael Fassbender was previously circling. As for Fassbender’s involvement, they provided no comment. Could a reunion still be in the works after they carried Fox’s recent blockbuster? We don’t have enough to go on, but stay tuned and read our original story below.

Danny Boyle is set to remake Joe Ahearne‘s 2001 British thriller Trance. The modestly budgeted art heist film is being described in the “dark, sexy, hard-edged tone of Boyle films like Shallow Grave and Trainspotting” and we now have an actor in talks to the role, after Michael Fassbender was rumored.

His X-Men: First Class co-star James McAvoy has entered early talks to play the a role, but not the one of Simon. Fassbender was circling that role of “the shady leader of the gang who partners with the assistant.” Check out a synopsis below.

An assistant at an auction house masterminds the heist and teams up with a gang of thieves, but suffers a blow to the head and wakes up with amnesia. He is the only one who knows where the painting’s location is and after his continued failure to remember, the gang begins to suspect duplicity on his part and hire a female hypnotist to get into his brain.

Boyle, and his producing partner Christian Colson, plan a different kind of production schedule. He will have a London shoot this fall, then take a break to direct the opening 2012 Summer Olympics ceremony. He will then return to the film and edit it for a March 2013 release via Fox Searchlight. Many films are on such a tight production schedule, it will be interesting to see what this extended break can help in the formation of the film.

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James McAvoy, star of The Last King of Scotland and X-Men: First Class, has replaced fellow X-Men actor Michael Fassbender in the lead role of Danny Boyle’s next film, Trance, according to a report in Variety magazine. Trance is a remake of a 2001 British TV drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne (best known for his work on This Life and Doctor Who), and is about an auction house employee who helps to steal a painting, but then suffers amnesia and can’t remember where it’s hidden.

Fassbender, who played Magneto in X-Men: First Class, was originally in line for the role, but appears to have dropped out, clearing the way for McAvoy, who played Xavier in the same movie.

Boyle, who won the Academy award for best director in 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire, is due to direct the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and plans to shoot Trance before the event gets under way.

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“Wanted” fans have been clamoring for a sequel since we first saw Angelina Jolie snatch James McAvoy up for the car ride of his life. However, despite story developments that would make it rather difficult for at least one character to return in a sequel, the film plays pretty fast and loose with the comic book source material — enough so that a sequel could be possible, or at least that’s what “Wanted” writer Mark Millar has been teasing us with for a few years.

In any case, McAvoy can’t escape questions about the possibility, even during interviews for “X-Men: First Class.”

“I don’t know what’s happening,” the Scottish actor told IGN. “I know that the script came out a while back which I don’t think they were happy with in the end.”

“I think the studio is keen to make it, and we really want to make it, but we want to make it if it’s right and when it’s right, and that might not be ever,” he added.

Of course, a big part of it hinges on a character who got knocked off in the first “Wanted” and whether the sequel would make the same beaucoup bucks without that mega-star on board.

Even so, McAvoy doesn’t exactly seem too keen for a sequel.

“It was a good time, and a good movie, but in a way, I’m glad that not everything has to be a franchise,” he said.

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