Director Martin Scorsese finally won his first and to date only Oscar for the gangster drama The Departed. Based on the Chinese film Infernal Affairs, this film starred Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Vera Farmiga, Mark Wahlberg, and Martin Sheen. The film was a moderate success at the box office, earning over $291 million.
Mark Wahlberg reportedly tried to pitch a sequel idea to the studio but was met with rejection as Scorsese did not want to make the film into a franchise. There may be spoilers for The Departed ahead.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pitch For A Sequel To The Departed
Despite an ensemble cast featuring heavy hitters like Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Alec Baldwin, actor Mark Wahlberg stood his own ground in The Departed.
The original Chinese film Infernal Affairs was also hugely successful and spawned two sequels namely, turning it into a franchise. While filming, the makers of The Departed were also interested in a sequel. Screenwriter William Monahan also reportedly had an idea on how to make a sequel. But the $291 million gross of the film reportedly canceled these plans.
Mark Wahlberg revealed that there were plans for turning the film into a franchise in an interview with KFC Radio. He mentioned that he had attended a meeting with Monahan, where they wanted to pitch a sequel to the film to Warner Brothers studio. However, the pitch reportedly did not go well as the duo did not have any script,
“I went into a meeting with Bill Monahan at Warner Bros. to pitch the sequel to ‘The Departed’. And let’s just say the pitch didn’t go very well. He really didn’t have anything fleshed out, but he’s the kind of guy you just trust to go and write something. And so when we were working on the script for ‘Cocaine Cowboys, American Desperado’ [I] said, ‘Bill, just go write. They like to have things well thought out and planned. So that pitch didn’t go well.”
Wahlberg also mentioned that he had thought of getting Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt, who produced the original, on board for the sequel, but it did not materialize. Another reason why the sequel did not happen was because director Martin Scorsese was just not keen on making a sequel.
Martin Scorsese Was Against Turning The Departed Into A Franchise
Director Martin Scorsese has been pretty vocal about his disdain for the commercialization of cinema and has mentioned how he has constantly fought to keep his vision intact within the studio system. He even revealed that he was ready to quit filmmaking after having a terrible time working with Harvey Weinstein on Gangs of New York and The Aviator.
The director was reportedly brought on board The Departed after he fell in love with William Monahan’s screenplay and then decided to come back and film it. The film won him his first-ever Oscar for Best Director. However, despite this glory, Scorsese was not in favor of making a sequel to the crime drama.
In an interview with GQ, Scorsese mentioned that studio executives were the only people who were disappointed with the film as the deaths of the main characters meant that they could not turn it into a franchise. They reportedly even asked him to change the deaths of at least one of the leads.
“What they wanted was a franchise. It wasn’t about a moral issue of a person living or dying…The studio guys walked out and they were very sad because they just didn’t want that movie. They wanted the franchise. Which means: I can’t work here anymore.”
Despite his advanced age, Scorsese continues to make films that challenge the current trends and is waiting for the release of his latest crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon.
