The first official trailer is online for Spenser Confidential, the first in what looks like a more promising outing from Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg who last paired up for Mile 22; Not that it necessarily overshadows their previous work, but in case you’re wondering, I’m still feeling the sting from that cutting room fiasco.
I take issue when a director finds inspiration in a well-known, habitual white nationalist for creative purposes and then actually applies him as an easter egg in what’s supposed to be a taut, escapist espionage action thriller. That being said, if you’re awake to politics these days, you’re forgiven for looking at Peter Berg a bit funny-like for pulling this shit in designing what Mark Wahlberg performs for what would have otherwise been an interesing character with some cool, high moments.
It’s definitely actor Winston Duke‘s year following the success of his most recent breakout supporting role in Marvel’s Black Panther. Among other gigs, he’s snagged several upcoming roles since then, most notably as Kimbo Slice in Backyard Legend and just this week as a metal suit-wearing vigilante waging war on Aryan criminal scum in Kin scribe Dan Casey’s Heroine, and now he’s adding another to his credits with Peter Berg’s Wonderland adaptation, Netflix-bound with Mark Wahlberg starring.
I’ve had handfuls of conversations about Peter Berg’s Mile 22, and they do sort of speak to my dimming enthusiasm for the film since the lot us penned and hyped the possibility of seeing Iko Uwais flourish in a new potential franchise.
Need a little something to tie you down until the release of Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes For Us?…
In a visceral modern thriller from the director of Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg stars as James Silva, an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and least-understood unit. Aided by a top-secret tactical command team, Silva must retrieve and transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to Mile 22 for extraction before the enemy closes in.
STX Entertainment is living onward with their commitment toward franchise potential for Peter Berg’s upcoming thriller, Mile 22. I’m itching for a new trailer myself but the release date is re-stamped for August 17 this time around and the word now is that a sequel is officially in the works, as confirmed exclusively by Mia Galuppo at The Hollywood Reporter.
Mark Wahlberg, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey, Lauren Cohan and John Malkovich lead the principal cast for the inaugural action vehicle about a black-ops unit tasked with protecting an informant as they race against time to escort him twenty-two miles away to safety. The film was further announced back in April as part of a crossplatform initiative STX that includes a VR spin-off titled The Kiev Exchange for STXsurreal, which Aleem also wrote.
Plot, as well as cast and crew details on the Mile 22 sequel remain pending while one of the biggest assets thusfar next to Wahlberg’s star power has been that of Rousey and Uwais, both noticeable presences in the world of martial arts and having both had their share of film credits enough to appeal to film fans with Uwais standing to gain plenty from his current crossover into Hollywood since The Force Awakens.
Aleem, who is represented by Verve, Madhouse Entertainment and Felker Toczek, also penned upcoming Netflix thriller, Kate, which is still in development with David Leitch producing.
In a visceral modern thriller from the director of Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg stars as James Silva, an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and least-understood unit. Aided by a top-secret tactical command team, Silva must retrieve and transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to Mile 22 for extraction before the enemy closes in.
Actor Mark Wahlberg’s previously announced stake in producer Sue Kroll’s Six Billion Dollar Man remains pending. Until then, moviegoers can expect the star to appear in his latest pairing with Peter Berg, Mile 22, and a brand new still from the film has arrived for the STXfilms release which you can view below.
The exclusive from USA Today also notes a new release date set for August 3, signaling a rollback from the initial announcement in February for a July 20 upon officially wrapping in Bogota, Colombia. Walhberg leads Mile 22 along with international action star Iko Uwais and UFC-turned-WWE starlet Ronda Rousey for a story centered on an elite American intelligence officer on a mission to smuggle a cop with sensitive information out of a foreign country.
The film also stars John Malkovich and Lauren Cohan. Berg, who produces, is also spearheading efforts toward a film franchise, as well as a VR series for STXSurreal spinning off Mile 22 with The Kiev Exchange.
Click for more from USA Today.
*A correction was issued from a previous version of this article that reads the spin-off as “The Kiev Conspiracy”.
Ronda Rousey’s career with the WWE remains pending following recent headlines. In the meantime, she’s got goals set in cinema and with none other than director Peter Berg and a rousing list of heavy hitters for potential franchise vehicle, Mile 22.
ComingSoon.net reports that production on the new action thriller which also headlines Mark Wahlberg and international superstar Iko Uwais, has wrapped principal photography following shoots in Atlanta, GA and Bogota, Colombia. A newly announced theatrical rollout has been set for July 20, 2018 from STXfilms while the studio further preps for a multiplatform STX release via STXtv and STXsurreal VR, as well as a sequel.
Mile 22 marks the fourth collaboration between Berg and Wahlberg after Patriots Day, Deepwater Horizon and Lone Survivor. Written by Graham Roland and Lea Carpenter, the film centers on an elite American intelligence officer who, when aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of a foreign country.
Also starring are John Malkovich and Lauren Cohan with Berg producing for Film 44 and Wahlberg for Closest to the Hole, and Stephen Levinson for Leverage. John Logan Pierson is executive producing.
Indeed, STXfilms is moving forward with the new action thriller, Mile 22, and with its initial cast of Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Ronda Rousey and Indonesian import Iko Uwais. The film has been on the move for a year and change now with Peter Berg directing from a script by Graham Roland and Lea Carpenter and while movement has been albeit slow, it looks as if the goalpost nears later this month for start of production.
This little tidbit also brings news by way of Variety with the addition of actress Lauren Cohan, best known for the role of Maggie on the hit AMC series, The Walking Dead, which is well into the release of its eighth season. Character details are pending whilst the premise remains with a story telling of an elite American intelligence officer who, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country.
Berg and Wahlberg are producing the film in their latest pairing following Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots’ Day. They are joined by Stephen Levinson who will also produce with plans for a hopeful trilogy and possible multiplatform ventures. John Logan Pierson will serve as executive producer with Drew Simon and Kate Vorhoff overseeing for STXfilms.
Cohan’s casting was announced at the American Film Market wherke Uwais is also being represented by way of Arclight Films with the upcoming release of Jesse Johnson’s Triple Threat next year.
Development of STX Entertainment’s long-awaited Asian action thriller, Mile 22, has been on hold for sometime now. Call it a really slow brew – nearly two years, in fact. Thankfully though, the film is in play at the studio where the film has taken shape to some degree with a few changes since then.
Graham Roland’s script currently has Deepwater Horizon star/director pair Mark Wahlberg and producer Peter Berg attached with the actor cast for the role of Silva – last described as a “complex” character, “a salty intelligence hack who has shoveled shit on four continents”. His newest shot at redemption now sees him battling through corrupt cops, criminal overlords and heavily-armed locals in order to escort a compromised informant to an airport 22 miles away.
As of this week, Deadline and Variety have it on good terms from events at CinemaCon that they’re looking toward the film as a potential trilogy starter with the first tethered as an intelligent, adult action film. Given the cast roster thusfar, this could possibly mean more martial arts action with the exponents like Iko Uwais (Headshot) and former UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (Furious Seven), while hopfully things don’t linger too much for Wahlberg who says the film still needs tweaking to suit his needs. “I still don’t feel like I have the movie, the role, that defines me,” says the actor.
Nothing else specific has been mentioned yet about production but the best part of this is that the film is still stirring about. Rousey’s other film prospects (My Fight Your Fight, Road House) have remained quiet since her two consecutive UFC losses last year but with Uwais involved and given the setting, this could undoubtedly bring just the uptick she needs on the film front.
Uwais recently wrapped Timo Tjahjanto’s solo directorial debut, The Night Comes For Us with lead actor Joe Taslim and is on deck to appear with Frank Grillo in Liam O’Donnell’s Beyond Skyline with production on the ensemble actioner, Triple Threat, commencing in Thailand next month under helmer Jesse V. Johnson. Wahlberg will star in Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight, opening on June 23.
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that Berg would direct.
Classic TV characters of yesteryear have been an otherwise useful source for studios to present to viewers as remakes for sometime now. Some of those remakes tend to flounder, including NBC’s short-lived 2007 reboot of Bionic Woman, which happened to be closest thing we’ve come to a reboot of any kind harkening back to its roots as preceding 70’s television series, The Six Million Dollar Man.
Now, it appears today’s audiences will be getting a straight forward big screen revamp of the latter, with word from Deadline regarding The Weinstein Company’s forthcoming production of The Six Billion Dollar Man (via Dimension) with Lone Survivor star and director, Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg, to star/produce and direct, respectively. The original 1974 series, based on “Cyborg” – the 1972 novel by author Martin Caidin, lasted eight seasons with actor Lee Majors in the role of astronaut Steve Austin, who becomes a superhuman secret agent for the government after surviving a horrific plane crash causing damage to both legs, his right arm and left eye.
The film will likely be another PG-13 seller for family-friendly audiences even as studios find ways to “push the envelope” to keep things entertaining. So it’s safe to say with hits like The Rundown and Berg’s work on sci-fi thrillers Hancock and Battleship, prospects for the The Six Million Dollar Man seem quite fortunate. As for whether or not we finally get to meet the character Jamie Sommers by then…well, that remains to be seen.
Filming commenses next year for a 2016 release from Universal Pictures.
H/T: Deadline
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