Shane Black’s next film, “Play Dirty,” will start shooting next year (via THR). Shane Black fans, rejoice!
Mark Wahlberg will replace original lead, Robert Downey Jr, who remains attached to the film as a producer, but what we really wanted was a Downey/Black “Kiss Kiss Bang” reunion. That’ll have to wait for another project.
“Play Dirty” will revolve around Parker (Wahlberg), a professional thief. In fact, the Parker character was first introduced in the 1962 novel, “The Hunter,” and was featured in 23 other titles from author Donald E. Westlake. The character subsequently served as the basis for such films as “Parker”, “Payback” and 1973’s criminally underrated “The Outfit,” starring Robert DuVall.
Black is coming off 2018’s “The Predator,” a disaster plagued by studio interference, reshoot delays and an entire third act rewritten in the middle of production. He deserves a comeback vehicle, and “Play Dirty” might be just the prescription for that.
Black started off his career as a 27-year-old whiz-kid screenwriter, writing the scripts for "Lethal Weapon," "The Last Boy Scout," "The Last Action Hero" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight." Black’s directing debut, 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” has developed a cult following, ditto 2016’s “The Nice Guys.”
I’m also a fan of Black’s “Iron Man 3,” which might just be the most underrated film of the entire MCU canon. It featured his usual witty dialogue, a labyrinthine crime plot, male friendship and was, of course, set in Christmas (Black’s favorite cinematic holiday).