Director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg continued their long-running collaboration with SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL, an action comedy that debuted on Netflix earlier this year. The film was a huge success for the streaming service as they reported that 85 million households watched the film over its first six weeks of release. We all know what that means – sequel.
While speaking with Collider, Peter Berg said that a sequel to SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL is definitely happening.
Brian Helgeland, who wrote the first script, just turned in a first draft last week. So we’re definitely going to do Spenser Confidential 2, we’re just trying to figure out the dates.
Berg guesses that production on the sequel would begin by "the very end of 2021 or beginning of 2022." Based on the series of novels by American mystery writer Robert B. Parker and later by Ace Atkins, SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL starred Mark Wahlberg as an ex-cop who is better known for making trouble than solving it. Having just got out of prison, Spenser aims to leave Boston for good, but he gets roped into helping his old boxing coach and mentor, Henry (Alan Arkin), with a promising amateur known as Hawk (Winston Duke), a brash, no-nonsense MMA fighter convinced he’ll be a tougher opponent than Spenser ever was. When two of Spenser’s former colleagues turn up murdered, he recruits Hawk and his foul-mouthed ex-girlfriend, Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger), to help him investigate and bring the culprits to justice. Although the film didn't receive the best reviews, it's clear that the Netflix algorithm as spoken.
Our own Chris Bumbray reviewed the film when it dropped, but wasn't blown away by it. "At best, it plays out like a nineties Paramount Pictures thriller (like a DOUBLE JEOPARDY type B-thriller, or something like ALONG CAME A SPIDER)," said Bumbray in his review. "While at its worst, it feels like a glorified TV movie, with Wahlberg’s take on Spenser too close to other characters he’s played over and over to be distinctive." At the time, Bumbray hoped that if there was a sequel, that "they’ll double down on the action, give it a decent villain, and work a little harder to make the hero a distinctive character that can carry a franchise." Are you excited for a sequel to SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL?