A film that has been stuck in development for ages might finally escape. Travis Knight, who made Kubo And The Two Strings and last year's Bumblebee, has boarded The Six Billion Dollar Man.
Like the TV series it is partly inspired by (1970s staple The Six Million Dollar Man), the new film will also draw from Martin Caidin’s 1972 tome Cyborg. Mark Wahlberg remains attached to star as Steve Austin, a former astronaut who barely survives a horrific experimental plane crash. To save his life, he is given high-tech enhancements by scientists who replace his legs, his right arm and left eye with bionic systems. Thus gifted super-human abilities, he’s drafted in to work for the government as a secret agent.
The tone of the film has shifted between flat-out action and a comedy version, but the current incarnation is something of a mystery. Wahlberg and regular collaborator Peter Berg had steered it more towards a straightforward action movie, and The Accountant's Bill Dubuque wrote the most recent draft of the script. Knight's hiring suggests it could also have a lighter tone.
Warner Bros. has the rights, having snatched them from the collapse of the Weinstein Company in 2017 and has been pushing to get the movie made. Knight picked the project after the success of Bumblebee saw him become even more in demand.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.