The 1970s superhero The Six Million Dollar Man is being revived for a new movie titled The Six Billion Dollar Man. Mark Wahlberg, who will star as the title character, recently opened up about why playing The Six Billion Dollar Man is more appealing to him than portraying a DC or Marvel superhero.
“You know, I have one superhero movie in mind, and it’s The Six Billion Dollar Man, formally known as The Six Million Dollar Man, gone up due to inflation,” Wahlberg joked while speaking with ComicBook.com to promote his new Netflix movie, The Union. “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.”
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Wahlberg then explained that not having to “wear one of those suits” was one of the main reasons why The Six Billion Dollar Man appealed to him. “I don’t have the confidence to walk around in one of those suits. Halle [Berry] goes, ‘Oh you’d look great in one of those costumes,’ I go, ‘It’s not the physical appearance, it’s the mental confidence to walk out of my trailer,'” he added.
Mark Wahlberg Is Ready to Make The Six Billion Dollar Man
The Six Billion Dollar Man was first announced in 2014 with Wahlberg’s Lone Survivor director Peter Berg set to helm the reboot and filming scheduled to begin in 2015. However, Berg departed the project in 2015 and was replaced by Damián Szifron (To Catch a Killer), with production delayed to September 2016. However, filming never began, and in December 2017, The Weinstein Company sold the film’s rights to Warner Bros., who announced a mid-2019 release for The Six Billion Dollar Man in April 2018.
Unfortunately, Szifron exited the project in May 2018 over “creative differences” and by that October the remake was removed from Warner Bros.’ release calendar. Szifron was eventually replaced in April 2019 by Bumblebee helmer Travis Knight, with Bill Dubuque (Ozark) announced to be writing the screenplay. However, it is unknown if the two are still attached to the project as of August 2024.
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Earlier this year while promoting the adventure movie Arthur the King, Wahlberg shared that his team had just reacquired the rights to The Six Billion Dollar Man and was optimistic that the project would begin production soon. “We’ve got the rights again, we’re looking at making that movie – hopefully soon!” he shared. “Again, ticking clock. Thank God, it’s an older guy who they feel like has some real-life experience that makes it worth it for him to be the subject of this experiment.”
The Six Million Dollar Man Is a Classic ’70s Show
The Six Million Dollar Man originally ran on ABC from 1973 to 1978. The classic series starred Lee Majors as Steve Austin, a NASA astronaut whose body is outfitted with six million dollars worth of bionic enhancements and replacements following a catastrophic crash. The enhancements give him several powers, including super strength, super speed, and supervision. A spin-off series, titled The Bionic Woman, ran from 1976 to 1978.
The Six Billion Dollar Man does not yet have a release date.
Source: ComicBook.com
The Six Million Dollar Man
In a classic action series, a former astronaut gains extraordinary abilities through cutting-edge bionic implants following a severe accident. As a secret agent, he uses his superhuman strength, speed, and enhanced vision to execute critical missions for the government, tackling threats both domestic and international.
- Release Date
- January 18, 1974
- Cast
- Lee Majors , Richard Anderson , Martin E. Brooks , Lindsay Wagner , Alan Oppenheimer , Quinn K. Redeker , Than Wyenn , John de Lancie
- Main Genre
- Action
- Seasons
- 5
