Mark Wahlberg Would Only Do A Shooter Sequel For One Reason (And It Isn't Money)
In the age of sequels and reboots, it seems as if every actor is returning to their iconic roles. For Mark Wahlberg, "Shooter" seems like the perfect no-one-asked-for-this sequel that Paramount would rush to the big screen. However, the actor has yet to walk back on his career and reprise any of the roles that elevated him to stardom, but there's a reason we still haven't seen a sequel to the epic sniper movie.
"I certainly enjoyed making the character," Wahlberg told Collider in 2007, following the release of "Shooter." "This was the last movie that I made, and so it's all very fresh in my head, but I've never done a sequel before. It would really depend. If the script was better than the first movie, then it's worth considering, but other than that, I don't know. Most sequels seem to be made for the sake of paychecks."
Although Wahlberg wasn't a sequel actor in 2007, his outlook has changed since then, starring in sequels to "Ted," "Transformers," and "Daddy's Home." "Shooter" is in the middle of Wahlberg's best and worst movies, not belonging to either category, but, surprisingly, he and Paramount Pictures haven't reteamed to bring Bob Lee Swagger back to the big screen. While it was a script issue back in 2007, Wahlberg continued Swagger's story in a different way, with another actor in the lead role.
Walhberg took Shooter to TV
Instead of starring in a "Shooter" sequel, Mark Wahlberg brought Bob Lee Swagger to the small screen, with "Shooter" premiering on the USA Network in 2016. The series starred Ryan Phillippe as Swagger, with Wahlberg serving as an executive producer on the project.
While "Shooter" could've continued Swagger's story from where Wahlberg's movie left off, production decided to remake the story of Stephen Hunter's "Point of Impact" novel with Phillippe instead. The series ran for three seasons on the USA Network, adapting the rest of Hunter's Swagger stories, including "Time to Hunt" and "Black Light" over its run. Unfortunately, "Shooter" never became the hit the network wanted, receiving negative reviews, resulting in a cancelation after Season 3.
Maybe Swagger isn't meant for the screen, but we aren't ruling out that Wahlberg could revive the series one day. Since his Collider interview in 2007, the actor has starred in numerous sequels, so assuming Paramount can lock down a solid script, Wahlberg could still be interested in another "Shooter." Phillippe's "Shooter" packed up his arsenal in 2018, so plenty of time has passed that a theatrical sequel wouldn't confuse audiences. Frankly, the TV show never gained that large of an audience, so chances are most people never saw Phillippe's version anyways. To be fair, the Wahlberg-led movie wasn't exactly a box-office juggernaut either, so maybe "Shooter" is better left on the pages.