Mark Wahlberg stars in Shane Black’s first film in seven years, Play Dirty, which is said to be going straight to Prime Video on the 1st October.
Update 31st July 2025: Writer-director Shane Black’s latest film, Play Dirty, could be heading straight to Prime Video without a cinema release. According to TheInSneider (via World of Reel), the thriller will skip cinemas altogether and appear on Amazon’s streaming service on the 1st October. That’s not that far into the future, given that we haven’t seen a trailer or much else in the way of promotion from its studio.
Play Dirty is another adaptation of Donald E Westlake’s 1962 novel The Hunter, with Mark Wahlberg playing the expert thief Parker, double-crossed and left for dead by his partner. Of the various films based on Parker, the most famous is surely John Boorman’s Point Blank from 1967.
Shane Black is at his best when he’s on thriller territory, whether it’s Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or The Nice Guys. Play Dirty sounds like more certain ground for Black after the disappointment of 2018’s The Predator.
If Play Dirty really is out as soon as the 1st October, we should hear something official from Amazon MGM soon. We’ll let you know if we do.
Our original story follows…
12th March 2025: Writer, producer, director and sometime actor Shane Black has left a potent mark on modern cinema, not least directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys. Furthermore, has a $1bn hit to his name with Iron Man 3, and his screenplays for the likes of Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout are quite something to do.
I want to start this story with the good stuff, as the last film that he made to date was 2018’s The Predator. I wasn’t fond of it at all, but still: since then, Shane Black has neither written nor directed a film, and that’s been seven years. He’s been away from the screen too long.
Let us welcome, then, Play Dirty. This was a movie we learned of two years ago, the latest attempt to bring Donald E Westlake’s Parker stories to the big screen. The role of Parker has been played over the years by Jason Statham, Mel Gibson and, effectively, Lee Marvin. Now Mark Wahlberg gets a go.
Read more: What went wrong with The Predator?
As much as the film has been known about, its production has flown quietly under the radar. But a new posting by the Motion Picture Association of America basically confirms that the movie is done. It’s been given – who saw this coming? – an R-rating, and it’s earned that for “strong violence, pervasive language, some sexual content and nudity.”
You can read the listing here.
It’s a movie that’s on the Amazon MGM Studios docket too, and as well as directing, Black has penned the screenplay alongside Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi.
Joining Mark Wahlberg in the cast are LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Dermot Mulroney, Tony Shalhoub, Keegan-Michael Key, Nat Wolff, Chukwudi Iwuji and Thomas Jane.
We don’t as of yet have a release date, short of the fact that Play Dirty will be arriving in 2025. More as we hear it.
