Mark Wahlberg Talks ‘The Departed’ Prequel and Sequel

I’m not a big fan of Mark Wahlberg. Oh sure, he’s been in some pretty decent films, but his performance always leave me a little underwhelmed to say the least. But he keeps getting the parts so he muct be doing something right, and without the casting couch being an option these days I suppose directors see something good in his acting.

One such director is the legendary Martin Scorsese, who gave Wahlberg a part in The Departed, the Hollywood remake of a Hong Kong classic. The film was a huge success and won Scorsese along with screenwriter William Monahan Oscars for their trouble. So obviously there’s talk of a sequel, and bizarrely, a prequel.

Wahlberg himself let it slip that Scorsese was eyeing up turning The Departed in to a trilogy last year, telling MTV:

“We may do another one, because it’s based on a Hong Kong film [’Infernal Affairs’], and there is a trilogy. So we may do a sequel with a new cast, and a prequel and bring back the rest of the guys.”

Now, MTV Movies have followed up on the lead and asked Wahlberg about it during press for his new abortion of a film The Happening. He told them about where the project now stands:

“They’re [still] developing it. If it can be better than the first, then great. I’ll be all for it. I’m not interested in going for the paycheck. I love ‘Godfather 2’ but, then again, I don’t like ‘Godfather 3.’”

If this does indeed happen then it would be the first time Scorsese has revisited a project. I think a sequel could do well if the cast was stellar enough to make it a star-studded movie like the first one. With talk of Robert De Niro even being involved, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.