Mark Wahlberg’s foray into Netflix original movies Spenser Confidential was exceedingly popular when it hit the subscription streaming service during quarantine. Just a hop, skip and a jump later, the actor is in talks for another Netflix flick, but shockingly, we’re not talking about Spenser Confidential 2.
Instead, news broke this week that Mark Wahlberg is in talks to attach himself to the Netflix movie Our Man In New Jersey. The flick would put him on a path many, many actors have gone before as the movie is described as a spy film with Wahlberg playing a character who is blue collar but still has spy skills.
According to Variety, should it move forward, Mark Wahlberg would not only be reteaming with Netflix he would also be working with Stephen Levinson again. Levinson came up with the story idea after working with Wahlberg on Spenser Confidential. The two men would both produce the upcoming project as well.
Obviously this project is still in the early stage, although it sounds as if David Guggenheim may write the script, but what I find most interesting about the news is that this isn’t an announcement for Spenser Confidential 2.
That movie sports an exciting cast, including Mark Wahlberg, but also Winston Duke, Alan Arkin and Netflix regular Ilisa Shlesinger. Reviews were only middling on the movie, but people seemed to dig it enough for it to be trending in the Top 10 on Netflix for quite some time. I’m surprised also that given Peter Berg and Wahlberg tend to enjoy working together (see Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor, etc).
Look, this doesn’t mean Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg won’t eventually team up for Spenser Confidential 2. The movies does, after all, set up for a sequel during its final moments when Spenser and the gang are hanging out at a restaurant and see a hometown arrest has occurred.
It’s primed for a sequel and there’s probably appetite for a sequel, but it’s worth noting Peter Berg’s next attached to the TV miniseries Painkiller, which is also set up at Netflix and will be accomplished with Eric Newman, the showrunner for Narcos. It should be a heavy hitter about the opioid crisis and Berg is signed on to direct all eight episodes, so that project will certainly be more time consuming the more usual one-episode directing stint. So, perhaps this will give Mark Wahlberg a movie to do while they two bros wait for the stars to realign. Another germane point is that Netflix hasn't greenlighted a sequel yet, but that possibility was the first thing I thought of when Mark Wahlberg hit the headlines this morning.
Meanwhile, while you can’t see Mark Wahlberg in a new project this weekend, you could hear him if you want to head to VOD for Scoob!, the latest Scooby-Doo movie for Warner Bros. He’s part of a pretty solid voice acting cast for that movie. For more of what’s still scheduled for the movies, take a look at our full guide.
