Mark Wahlberg is undeniably one of Hollywood’s most illustrious stars, with the actor having first got his start in music during the ’90s before making his screen debut in 1994. Wahlberg’s debut role was in Renaissance Man, which starred Danny DeVito, and two years later Wahlberg booked his first leading role in Fear. Not long after that, he began to get more mainstream acknowledgment for his acting and the roles he took on, and moved on to bigger films in American cinema. From comedy to action movies, Wahlberg has done it all.
Wahlberg has managed to provide a certain depth of range and charm to every movie he tackles, and, perhaps, that is one of the reasons he has become one of the world’s highest-paid actors. His resume includes some 2000s classics like Plant of the Apes, the sports biopic The Fighter, and the comedy Ted. Not only has he acted, but he also produces work — the series Entourage and Boardwalk Empire both include Wahlberg’s name as a producer — and owns a fast-food chain. Wahlberg has seemingly done it all by this point, but there is no slowing him down. Let’s take a look at every project Wahlberg is currently working on.
5
Play Dirty
Expected 2025
Based on Richard Stark’s gripping novel The Hunter, the upcoming crime thriller Play Dirty will once again introduce moviegoers to the infamous career criminal Parker, a professional robber who specializes in high-risk, high-reward thefts and meticulously carries them out, using his lethal skills when necessary. Wahlberg will be tackling the role of Parker in the latest big-screen adaptation, the fourth Hollywood iteration of the character after Lee Marvin (Walker), Mel Gibson (Payback), and Jason Statham (Parker) portrayed the character.
Wahlberg & Stanfield Team Up for ‘Play Dirty’
Atlanta alum LaKeith Stanfield will appear as fellow thief and Parker’s frequent companion Alan Grofield, and the talented duo will be joined by other familiar faces like Dermot Mulroney, Tony Shalhoub, and Keegan-Michael Key with Shane Black directing the intriguing thriller. Play Dirty will focus on Parker as he attempts to carry out arguably the biggest heist of his career and must outsmart powerful figures including the world’s wealthiest man, a South American dictator, and the New York mob.
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4
Balls Up
Release Date TBA
After more than a decade’s absence from directing, Peter Farrelly is ready to bring laughter back to the masses with the action comedy Balls Up, a star-studded affair led by Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, Eric André, and Molly Shannon that tells the story of two recently fired marketing executives who after causing a massive international incident while attending the World Cup Final in Brazil are forced to go on the run from the authorities when they become fugitives.
The Comedy World’s Finest Assemble
Farrelly enlisted popular writing duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool) to pen the comedy’s screenplay, with the famed director having previously teamed up with his brother Bobby to helm beloved hits like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. Wahlberg and Hauser’s drunken debauchery in the flick will lead to entertaining hijinks and misadventures as the rival co-workers become hunted by everyone in Brazil and must rely on one another to get out of the country.
3
The Family Plan 2
Expected 2026
Mark Wahlberg will once again reunite with director Simon Cellan Jones and leading lady Michelle Monaghan for the action comedy The Family Plan 2, a sequel to the 2023 Apple TV+ original that features the actor reprising his role as ex-covert assassin-turned-suburban car salesman Dan Morgan, who along with his family head to Europe to have the perfect vacation and celebrate Christmas, only to find his checkered past catching up with him once more.
Wahlberg Is Back as an Ex-Assasin Family Man
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington will be starring opposite Wahlberg and Monaghan in an undisclosed role, though it’s been revealed that he will be portraying an adversary to Dan since the actors were caught duking it out on the upper deck of a double-decker bus in London during production. Despite garnering negative reviews from critics, The Family Plan became a knockout with viewers and was Apple TV+’s most-watched film until it was surpassed by the George Clooney/Brad Pitt comedy Wolfs in 2024.
2
By Any Means
Release Date TBA
Chronicling the life of notorious mafia hitman Gregory Scarpa, the historical crime thriller By Any Means revolves around the feared enforcer for the Colombo Mafia family as he begins a relationship with the FBI and teams up with a young and determined agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) to investigate a series of murders in 1966 Mississippi. Scarpa was pulled in on a special assignment by the FBI after civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito) was brutally killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, prompting a relentless manhunt for the perpetrators.
Wahlberg Returns to Familiar Acting Territory
By Any Means will not be the first time Wahlberg steps into the shoes of a real-life person, as the Oscar-nominated actor had previously played famous figures like professional boxer Mickey Ward in The Fighter and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Lone Survivor. Like with the role of Scarpa, Wahlberg has also played an FBI informant in Martin Scorsese’s crime masterpiece The Departed, appearing as Staff Sergeant Colin Sullivan, a spy in the Massachusetts State Police. With a stacked cast and engrossing premise, By Any Means will likely be another Hollywood hit for Wahlberg.
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1
Ted: The Animated Series
Release Date TBA
Beloved thunder buddies John Bennett and his foul-mouthed teddy bear Ted are set to reunite on-screen in the recently-announced TV show Ted: The Animated Series, a spinoff of the blockbuster comedy films and Peacock prequel that will likely take place after the events of the second movie and will feature Amanda Seyfried back as Sam Jackson and Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn. No official premise has been revealed, but the series was officially greenlit in May 2025.
Ted & John Are Back For More Shenanigans
Both Wahlberg and Seth McFarlane will be reprising their roles, and McFarlane is also slated to serve as an executive producer and writer. The dynamic duo will be joined by newcomers Kyle Mooney as Apollo and Liz Richman as Ruth, with Peacock doubling down on their Ted content by announcing the animated show and a second season of the franchise’s prequel. The first film installment in the series raked in over $549 million and became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of the year, kickstarting a fan-favorite franchise that remains a hit over a decade later.
