Is Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur going to be Mark Wahlberg‘s new David O. Russell? We’ll have to wait and see but it seems the two got along really well on the set of the forthcoming “Contraband” as Variety reports that Kormakur will sign on to direct Wahlberg in the action/comedy “2 Guns.”
In the works for a while first as a project to be directed by Russell with Vince Vaughn starring, both talents left the project, with Wahlberg then coming on board in August. Seemingly keeping the script penned by Russell who rewrote the original script by Blake Masters that was based on the graphic novel by Steven Grant, the film would follow two lawmen—a DEA agent and an undercover naval officer—who investigate each other as each have been tasked to steal mob money. Simple, solid concept that sounds like straight up mainstream fare. So Kormakur seems like a logical choice especially given how that first trailer for “Contraband” has played out.
For Kormakur, it gives his transition to Hollywood a bit more of a solid footing with approval from Wahlberg before “Contraband” has even opened, and he’s generating even more heat. He’s eyeing an “Everest” movie over at Universal (no, it’s not the same project Doug Liman was recently linked to) as well as a Viking movie for Working Title (no, not the Alexander Skarsgård project). So big things on the horizon for the helmer who has a new pal in Mark Wahlberg.
