Before his big screen breakthrough in Boogie Nights, most people knew Mark Wahlberg as Mary Mark, the 90’s one hit wonder who also posed in his underwear for Calvin Klein.
Thankfully, Wahlberg’s role in Boogie Nights lead to an A-list Hollywood career, saving him from a horrible reality TV future, like Vanilla Ice appearing on The Surreal Life.
Wahlberg just starred in Michael Bay’s upcoming dark comedy, Pain and Gain, which also stars Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, and now there’s reports that Bay would like Wahlberg to headline Transformers 4 as well.
This rumor recently surfaced on both Collider and Indie Wire, among other sites, and this could be very welcome news to those who can’t stand Shia LaBeouf. (Love him or hate him, LaBeouf is sticking to his declaration that he won’t be back for any more Transformers flicks).
As Wire also tells us, yet another Transformers flick would be very welcome for Hasbro, because the toy company’s earnings have been down this year. Part of this was blamed on the Transformers toys not doing that well these days, and with the fourth movie, there’s been talk of introducing new robots that could also become popular new products for kids to buy.
Along with Bay at the helm, screenwriter Ehren Kruger is also back for another round with Transformers. Krueger wrote the last two ‘Formers flicks, and he also penned the American version of The Ring. Early reports claim that the next ‘Formers will center around a father / son relationship, with Wahlberg being the dad.
Transformers 4 is currently scheduled for a June 27, 2014 release date, and Pain and Gain is scheduled for April 26 of next year. Interestingly, footage for Pain and Gain was recently screened at Paramount, along with clips from the deeply troubled World War Z. Cinema Blend noted that Pain and Gain was by far “the most appealing footage” shown from Paramount’s upcoming slate.
Blend also reports it’s “filled with plenty of Michael Bay flourish, from slow-motion running to golden sun flares to excessive use of helicopers. But it’s also got a clear comic bent…It plays out like a Coen Brothers-style dark comedy done in Michael Bay style.”
Surprisingly, the site says this very odd combo works, and of course we’ll see for sure next April.
