Deadlinereports that the streamer shelled out seven figures to acquire the project, which will be written bySafe HousescribeDavid Guggenheim. He’s no stranger to Netflix, as not only did he serve as an executive producer on theKurt RussellmovieThe Christmas Chronicles, which already has a sequel in the can, but he also created theKiefer SutherlandseriesDesignated Survivor, which migrated to Netflix following two seasons on ABC. He also goes way back with Netflix’sScott Stuber, who producedSafe House.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but it seems safe to assume that Wahlberg will play a spy of sorts from, you guessed it, New Jersey. Now, Wahlberg has never been one for accents aside from his own Boston accent, so we’ll see if he can adapt his voice for this movie, which he’ll produce withStephen Levinson, who came up with this inspired idea.
In early March, I spent a night in the hospital and managed to watchSpenser Confidentialon my phone (sorry, Berg brothers!) in between breathing treatments and bags of fluids. It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting, which is to say, it was entertaining. Nothing more, nothing less. It was perfectly watchable. I’m glad it’s not the last movie I ever saw, but I’m also glad I got the chance to see it, as 85 million other people did. It was, for a time, the most-watched original Netflix movie of all time. Of course,Extractioncame along a month later and laid its own claim to the streamer’s record, which may be why Wahlberg is back so soon, and graduating from Boston to the even more heavily-populated Tri-State area. He’s coming for that record!
I think Netflix should just go all-in and castChris Hemsworthopposite Wahlberg here. After all, a spy movie typically has a villain, right? We’ve seen Hemsworth play the hero time and time again, and we’ve seen his goofy side too in the occasional comedy, so let’s see his dark side and make him the cocky bad guy who Wahlberg has to teach a lesson. If Chris is too busy lifting hammers for Marvel, Wahlberg should just cast his brotherLiam Hemsworthand get his revenge on the whole Hemsworth family. You thinkExtraction’s 90 million views were something, huh? Well my version of thisJerseymovie would get 100 million views, easy peasy!
The point is, do not put it past Mark Wahlberg to do whatever it takes to get his hands on this record and keep it forever. I could see him calling his2 GunsbuddyDenzel Washingtonor hisThe Departedco-starsLeonardo DiCaprioandMatt Damonjust to make a cameo in this thing. Hell, I could see Mark Wahlberg burning down the set ofRed Noticejust to prevent that upcoming Netflix movie starringDwayne Johnson,Gal GadotandRyan Reynoldsfrom ever coming out. Mark Wahlberg isthatcompetitive, and God bless him for it.
The big, bright, shining star that is Mark Wahlberg will be explored in an upcoming documentary series titledWahl Streetthat will air on HBO Max, and if you want more details about that project, which I know you do, then you’ll have toclick here. Them’s the rules.
