Martin Scorsese‘s epic crime thriller movie The Departed is widely regarded as one of the best movies of all time. The movie is brimming with tension, full of twists and turns, and every actor involved is at the top of their game. It seems one actor had unfinished business, as Mark Wahlberg discusses his failed pitch for a sequel to The Departed.
The actor spoke on a podcast for KFC radio when the conversation turned to the 2000s classic The Departed. Wahlberg revealed that he, along with writer William Monahan, had pitched the idea for a sequel to the popular action movie, and failed.
The Departed was a massive hit with fans and critics alike, and even scooped four awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture. So, a sequel isn’t the craziest idea. Especially when you consider the fact that The Departed is actually based on the Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs, which is part of a trilogy itself.
Wahlberg, who actually picked up a nomination at the Oscars for The Departed, was the only member of the original cast whose character actually survived the events of the movie. So, naturally, he was keen to revisit the property and develop the story further. But, his pitch did not go down well.
According to Wahlberg, he had hopes of bringing in Brad Pitt for a sequel, and potentially even Robert De Niro. The problem though, it would appear, is that Wahlberg and Monahan went into the pitch meeting without a script, and Warner Bros didn’t like the risk of greenlighting an unwritten sequel.
“He [Monahan] assumed the studio would have the same response that everyone else did and let him go figure it out,” Wahlberg explains. “But they like to have things well-thought out and planned, so that pitch didn’t go well,” he concluded.
It’s a shame this sequel never got off the ground, as the potential was definitely there to explore more of the crime and corruption of the world The Departed opened up. That said, with something as good as The Departed, maybe it’s best to leave it there and just enjoy the fact we got the amazing movie we did.