Fresh off the success ofBumblebee, which grossed nearly $500 million worldwide,Travis Knighthas signed on to direct theMark WahlbergmovieThe Six Billion Dollar Manfor Warner Bros., Collider has confirmed.
The Six Billion Dollar Manis based on the ABC seriesThe Six Million Dollar Manthat aired from 1973 to 1978 and starredLee Majorsas Steve Austin, a former astronaut who had superhuman strength due to bionic implants, which made him the perfect secret agent. The show was based onMartin Caidin’s novel Cyborg.
Written byBill Dubuque, the film was originally developed by the Weinstein Company, where it was a passion project for Bob Weinstein. Argentinean filmmakerDamián Szifron(Wild Tales) was initially attached to direct, but he exited the project shortly after it moved to Warner Bros.Sue Kroll,Bill GerberandSteve Levinsonare now producing the movie, and Knight seems like a strong match for the material. He must’ve sparked to the chance to work with Wahlberg and put his own spin on the ’70s series, as multiple studios courted Knight for his next directing slot. Of course,The Six Billion Dollar Manhas been in the works for a while, and there’s no official start date, so it remains to be seen whether this project will actually get off the ground.
Szifron, for his part, is still plotting his follow-up toWild Tales, which was one of the best films of 2014. He has been developing a thriller for Sony’s TriStar label, but he has also been considering a movie about competitive rowerBrad LewistitledThe Olympian, as well as the FilmNation thrillerMisanthrope, about a troubled female cop who helps the FBI track down a mass shooter.
Knight is the president and CEO of Laika, which just released the animated filmMissing Linkinto theaters. He previously directedKubo and the Two Strings, one of just two animated movies to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. He’s repped by CAA, and his hiring was first reported byVariety.
