Wanted is a 2008 American action thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, and Chris Morgan, loosely based on the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, and Chris Pratt. Its plot revolves around Wesley Gibson (McAvoy), a frustrated account manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society in which his father worked. Universal Pictures acquired the adaptation rights from Millar in 2004, and while the eventual script drifted from the comic book supervillain mythos in the original miniseries, he was content to see most of the comic's darker content retained. Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and the story's main setting, Chicago. Bekmambetov's production company, Bazelevs Production, provided the majority of the film's visual effects. Danny Elfman scored the film, employing a guitar-based musical score. Wanted opened on June 27, 2008 to generally favorable reviews, with praise for its fast pacing and stylized action scenes, and grossed $342 million worldwide. A sequel was announced shortly after the film's release, but ultimately stalled in development. Plot In Chicago, Wesley Gibson works at a dead-end desk job with an overbearing boss, takes medication for panic attacks, and has a live-in girlfriend who cheats on him with his co-worker and best friend, Barry. One evening, Wesley is told by a woman named Fox that his recently murdered father was an assassin, and the killer, Cross, is now hunting him. When Cross and Fox engage in a shootout, Wesley panics and is pursued by Cross. Fox flips Wesley into her car and then executes an escape. Wesley awakens in a factory surrounded by Fox and other assassins. The group's leader, Mr. Sloan, forces Wesley at gunpoint to shoot the wings off of several flies, which he does, much to Wesley's shock. Sloan explains that Wesley's panic attacks are actually a rare ability that allows him to produce massive amounts of adrenaline, slowing his perception of his surroundings and granting him superhuman strength and speed. He reveals that Wesley's father, as well as Cross, were members of the Fraternity, a society of assassins that maintains balance in the world. Sloan wants to train him so that he may help kill Cross. A