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.
Robert B. Parker’s acclaimed detective novel series hit shelves 35 years ago, centered on the assignments of a former boxer and U.S. Army veteran-turned-private investigator in Boston, Massachusetts. Following previous iterations for the small screen, Wahlberg, in his fifth reunion with Berg, is set to be the latest actor to take on the role for the adaptation of the 2013 Putnam Adult publication – the second in the continued succession of books by author Ace Atkins who succeeded the 40-issue franchise following Parker’s death in 2010.
Intially hailed as a hopeful franchise vehicle, Sean O’Keefe is penning Wonderland which centers on what Deadline reported in June as a slightly more derivative take on Wonderland in that it sees our protagonist fresh out of prison and stripped of his private investigator license. In the story that ensues, Spenser reportedly uncovers the truth about a sensational murder and the twisted conspiracy it’s tied to, essentially sucking him back into Boston’s criminal underbelly.
Berg’s application will see Duke in the role of Hawk, a gun-for-hire whose character is described (partly according to the books in association with Variety‘s exclusive on Tuesday) as an equally tough but shady image of Spenser with whom he shares a mutual rapport after having met once in the ring as opponents – both claiming themselves to be the victor thereafter.
Neal H. Mortiz is producing at Original Film. Wahlberg is also producing the film with Stephen Levinson and Berg at Film 44 whose John Logan Pierson will exec produce next to Toby Ascher.