Mark Wahlberg’s career has been very dynamic, punctuated by strong performances in movies like Boogie Nights, The Departed, and The Fighter—all critically acclaimed roles that secured his standing in Hollywood. From leading male roles in a slew of blockbuster franchises, including Planet of the Apes and Transformers: Age of Extinction, to being attached to Uncharted film, Wahlberg’s diverse list just doesn’t stop.
Most interestingly, however, out of his expansive filmography, there is one genre in which the presence of Wahlberg was conspicuously absent: superhero movies. Though he has not donned a cape or mask, Wahlberg did lend his voice to the superhero character, The Blue Falcon, in the 2020 animated film Scoob!. In fact, save for this voice performance, Wahlberg has kept himself well out of the way of comic book characters, and it appears as if this is quite intentional on his part.
Even though Wahlberg kept himself away from superhero movies, there is one particular superhero he still wants to bring to life: his take on The Six Billion Dollar Man. This is a remake of the classic television series The Six Million Dollar Man, which starred Lee Majors in the title role. Mark Wahlberg has been developing this project for over seven years now. It was first announced to be released in 2017, but due to various holdups and unspecified reasons for the delay, it has kept the fans—much less Wahlberg himself—in suspension.
In an interview with Comic Book promoting his newest film, The Union, Wahlberg was asked if his co-star, Halle Berry, had ever spoken to him about making a superhero film. He turned the question back to The Six Billion Dollar Man, touting his enthusiasm for the film. “You know, I have one superhero movie in mind, and it’s The Six Billion Dollar Man, formerly known as The Six Million Dollar Man—gone up due to inflation. It’s grounded, and it’s plausible, real. You know, there is lots of bionics technology and science happening right now. So, this is something that has all the wish fulfillment of a superhero, incredible things.”
He also discussed how he isn’t really comfortable in the classic superhero costume, which has held him back from those types of roles previously. He continued, saying that even though Halle Berry thought he would look great in a superhero costume, he doesn’t have the “mental confidence to walk out of [his] trailer” in one.
It’s understandable as an actor’s personal preference, though most actors within the genre have shown discontentment with the physical demands that come with playing a superhero: spandex costumes, motion-capture suits, green screens, harnesses.
Showing his passion for the project The Six Billion Dollar Man, Wahlberg explained his commitment to bringing that character to life. He said that what worked for the character was in its realism: “But that being said, I was working really hard to bring The Six Million Dollar Man to the screen, which is based on a TV series. And it was based on a lot of wish-fulfillment and what this character could do, based on what they did to him. But it was grounded in reality and you felt like it would be much more believable as being realistic, to me, to be able to play that part, and feel like ‘I could do this,’ in a way that didn’t feel silly.”
Although Mark Wahlberg has not suited up for any DC or Marvel superhero franchises, with his ambition to play The Six Billion Dollar Man, he is surely not done with his attempts at a superhero role. With the many changes taking place in the world of superhero movies lately, who knows if Wahlberg will take that leap someday, but he is making a big statement about methodology for the genre with his commitment to a real-based character.
