Mark Wahlberg has been attached to the Six Million Dollar Man remake since 2014, and other filmmakers who had tried their hand at the project included Peter Berg, Damian Szifron and Travis Knight before the project became embroiled in rights disputes with Skydance.
All we really know is that the film’s title has been changed to The Six Billion Dollar Man and that Wahlberg is still hoping to play the title character.
ComicBook.com caught up with the actor at the premiere of his new Netflix film “The Union,” in which he co-stars with Halle Berry, to ask him about the status of the project: “Actually, I have one superhero movie in the works. It’s called ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man,’ officially known as ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’ but it’s gone up with inflation,” he joked.
“It’s grounded and plausible and realistic. You know, there’s a lot of bionic technology and science developed now, so this is a great, all-purpose superhero wish fulfillment thing,” Wahlberg continued. “But I don’t need to wear that suit. I don’t have the confidence to walk around in that suit.”
“Harry says, ‘Oh, you look good in that outfit,’ and I say, ‘It’s not about the look, it’s about the mental confidence you get out of your trailer.'”
Wahlberg has previously said he has little interest in being part of the Marvel or DC universes, meaning The Six Billion Dollar Man may be the closest he’ll ever get to playing a superhero-like character.
“The Six Million Dollar Man” aired on television from 1973 to 1978, starring Lee Majors as Colonel Steve Austin. The show was based on Martin Caidin’s 1972 novel “Cyborg.”
The story follows Steve Austin, a former astronaut who is seriously injured in a crash and is “regenerated” in a top-secret government program led by the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI). Austin is fitted with bionic implants that give him superhuman strength, speed and eyesight. His bionic arm, bionic leg and bionic eye are valued at $6 million, hence the show’s title.
Austin becomes a secret agent for the US government and uses his enhanced abilities to carry out dangerous missions that normal humans cannot undertake. The series subsequently spawned a spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner.
“Hey, I think there’s finally some hope that that could happen,” Wahlberg said of the reboot back in December, “and I think that actually has a lot to do with this movie, because even if it’s not completely set in stone right now, I think in the near future Skydance will acquire the rights and we’ll be able to get that movie made quickly.”
“So, I haven’t given up the fight yet, I’m still working every day to make it happen. You know, it’s been a hard, very difficult, uphill battle to make certain things happen, but I think certain things are worth seeing through to the end.”
As you might expect, there is no release date set for The Six Billion Dollar Man.