Mark Wahlberg Will Become THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN

Hollywood's been trying to make a Six Million Dollar Man movie happen for years and years, and now it appears that they've finally found both a star and director who are willing to tackle the project simultaneously. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that'd be Mark Wahlberg (in the titular role) and director Travis Knight, whose Bumblebee just raked in over $400M at the worldwide box office.

For those unfamiliar with the property: The Six Million Dollar Man was a sci-fi/action series that ran from 1974 until 1978 on ABC. It revolves around a NASA colonel by the name of Steve Austin whose body is smashed to smithereens while test flying an experimental aircraft. The government rebuilds Steve's body to the tune of $6M (they've adjusted for inflation; $6M probably won't cover the catering budget on this movie), giving him bionic strength, speed and vision in the process. Steve then uses his fancy new body to become an ass-kicking secret agent for the U.S. government. You can totally imagine Wahlberg going for this role, right?

As mentioned above, this project has seen many writers, directors and stars come and go over the years - so many that one is tempted to call the entire project "cursed"! - but something tells us this one might actually pan out. And besides, after Bumblebee, we're very curious to see what Knight does with the material. Plus, we might get to see Mark Wahlberg run at speeds approaching 60mph, which just sounds hilarious. 

Nothing further to report at this time, but stay tuned for further Six Billion Dollar Man updates as they roll in.