According to Variety, Bumblebee director Travis Knight has boarded Warner Bros.’ film adaptation of the Six Billion Dollar Man, becoming the latest in a long line of directors attached to the long-gestating project.
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Mark Wahlberg still remains attached to star in the film, based on the popular 1970s sci-fi TV series of the same name, about an astronaut (played by Lee Majors on the small screen), who uses his super strength (via bionic implants) to operate as a secret agent and rid the world of villainy.
The adaptation of the hit series, based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, has been in the works for over 20 years now, with the most recent progress having been made in 2014 when The Weinstein Company announced pre-production had started on the film with Mark Wahlberg (Patriots Day) attached to star in the lead role and frequent Wahlberg-collaborator Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon) in the director’s chair. However, Berg left the project and was replaced with Damian Szifron set to make his American debut as the co-writer and director on the film.
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Filming was delayed when the rights for the film were sold by The Weinstein Company in December 2017 to Warner Bros. in the latter’s attempts to keep their business open following the infamous Harvey Weinstein scandal. Then, for whatever reason, Szifron vacated the director’s chair leaving Warner Bros. scrambling to find a replacement, Knight makes a lot of sense considering his most recent film, Bumblebee, was a hit with critics and audiences alike last winter. Hopefully he can bring the same amount of heart and charisma that went into that film to the Six Billion Dollar Man.
