Mark Wahlberg is set to produce and star in “The Raven” for Universal Pictures. The idea is based on a six minute short on YouTube from Ricardo de Montreuil, who is also linked to the director’s chair for the big screen adaptation. De Montreuil, who previously directed “La Mujer De Mi Hermano,” used $5000 and a couple of weekends to shoot the short, which combines aspects of “X-Men,” “They Live” and “District 9” to tell the story of a powerful telekinetic sought by a mysterious Orwellian government against a futuristic Los Angeles backdrop.
The short, which we’ve included below, seems like a checklist of futuristic sci-fi tropes, and while it looks great thanks to the RED camera and the professional special effects, it doesn’t seem like more than a neat chase sequence. We don’t know if we should be bothered by the obvious recycling of common genre ideas in service of some flashy visuals or by Wahlberg’s co-opting of the entire enterprise.
“The Raven” short features some parkour work from star Victor “Showtime” Lopez, who seems like a fresh, exciting face, and we don’t see Wahlberg bringing anything to this role but more limited physicality and some slight bankability. Though maybe he’s taking a Terl-like supporting role as the villain, much like John Travolta in “Battlefield Earth,” where he’ll have to fight legions of crap-lousy man-animals. The story for this adaptation is being handled by screenwriter Justin Marks, responsible for “Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li” as well as unproduced scripts for “Voltron,” “Masters of the Universe,” “Supermax,” “Shadow of the Colossus” and “Hack/Slash.” Clearly someone in love with his craft.
In an interview with Collider, Wahlberg confirmed his interest in the project, expecting a draft, presumably from Marks, in the next eight weeks. He also updates on a number of projects he’s been attached to (Wahlberg seems keenly aware, and prepared, for the requirements of the junket interview). The one he speaks less about is the one we’re most excited for, “Cocaine Cowboys,” which remains in the script stage. Previously he’d been attached alongside Leonardo DiCaprio for director Peter Berg, but there appears to be no exciting news about this picture just yet.
Fear not, because Wahlberg’s working on another sequel no one wants! “ It was a lot of fun, it was smart, and so if we can capture that magic again then it’s worth doing,” he says of “The Brazilian Job,” the long-discussed sequel to “The Italian Job.” Talk of this project heats up about once a year now, but the original, itself a remake of a seminal Michael Caine classic, is already seven years old. Since the film has come out, Wahlberg has become an Oscar nominee, Charlize Theron an Oscar winner, Edward Norton a Hollywood pariah, Jason Statham an international action star and Seth Green a… well, we’ll bet Seth Green will come back.
We found it hard to believe but “Five Brothers,” yep, a follow-up to “Four Brothers,” is in active development too. Wahlberg describes the film as more of a star vehicle for himself where he “assume[s] the parental figure,” while also revealing the titular fifth brother is in fact of the long-lost variety, befitting the quasi-western roots of the original. “Four Brothers” was more of a forgettable auto-pilot genre picture for director John Singleton, and there didn’t seem to be much demand for a sequel, but it’s one of Wahlberg’s more doofus-y turns, so we don’t see a whole lot of harm in revisiting the story.
Wahlberg’s next film is the broad comedy “The Other Guys” but in December we’ll see him in David O’Russell’s hotly anticipated drama “The Fighter.” When quizzed about the film, Wahlberg claims, “it’s the best film that I’ve been in.” Wahlberg’s always been an actor of questionable range but otherwise strong taste in projects, and here he’s placing “The Fighter” over the likes of “I Heart Huckabee’s,” “Boogie Nights” and “The Departed.” Honestly, Mark? You sound a little crazy right there.