What happens when a big budget movie loses its Boston star? Well, apparently you just cast another one.
Deadline reports that Mark Wahlberg is in talks to replace fellow Tom Brady fanboy Ben Affleck in Netflix’s upcoming thriller “Triple Frontier.” The “Batman v Superman” actor recently announced that he would be dropping out of the project to focus on his health and family.
It’s been a rough few months for Affleck both personally and professionally. Aside from all the drama stemming from his divorce with Jennifer Garner, the 44-year-old star is also having issues getting his solo Batman movie off the ground. After dropping out of the director’s chair and having his script for the superhero project tossed, rumors have been swirling that he may leave the Dark Knight role altogether in the near future, although he was quick to dismiss that notion at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
As for Wahlberg, he’s fresh off the release of the critically-panned, but box office juggernaut “Transformers: The Last Knight,” which was allegedly his last appearance in the franchise. It’s a bit surprising to see him take over a role for Affleck, especially considering that he’s often mistaken for yet another Boston star, Matt Damon.
Directed by JC Chandor, “Triple Frontier” has gone through a ton of changes behind the scenes in the lead in to production.
The flick was originally going to be released by Paramount with Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum attached as leads before everything fell apart and Netflix swooped in. Now it sounds like Wahlberg will join Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal when filming commences in Hawaii and Colombia. “Triple Frontier” is reportedly a high-stakes thriller set in the dangerous border zones between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Since Ben’s younger brother (and Academy Award winner) Casey was briefly in talks for the film too, hopefully that means Donnie or another Wahlberg sibling will have a chance to hop on the project with Marky Mark.
