Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Joe Carnahan to Direct Mark Wahlberg Netflix Thriller The Operator
The Operator is a new action movie planned for Netflix.
Mark Wahlberg will play a former elite military operator.
His character secretly helps the CIA solve dangerous problems.
He is told to protect someone he strongly dislikes.
The assignment becomes a chase in which both men must try to survive.
Joe Carnahan will direct the movie.
Harrison Query wrote the story and will also executive produce it.
The announcement follows the success of Carnahan’s Netflix film The Rip.
Joe Carnahan will direct The Operator, an action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg for Netflix.
The film follows a former Tier One operator who works as a CIA cleanup specialist.
His mission to protect his most hated target becomes a dangerous survival game.
Harrison Query wrote the screenplay and will executive produce the project.
The Picture Company, Municipal Pictures and 12:01 Films partners will produce with Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson.
- Who
- Director Joe Carnahan and actor Mark Wahlberg are attached to the project, with Harrison Query as writer and executive producer.
- What
- The Operator is an action thriller about a former Tier One operator ordered to protect a hated target.
- When
- Carnahan’s attachment was announced after Query sold the screenplay to Netflix in December 2025; Trigger Point is set to begin production in January.
- Where
- The film is being developed for Netflix.
- Why
- The former operator must shepherd his most hated target to safety, leading to a high-stakes survival pursuit.
- Director
- Joe Carnahan
- Lead actor
- Mark Wahlberg
- Writer
- Harrison Query
- Distributor
- Netflix
- Producers
- Alex Heineman, Andrew Rona, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Scott Glassgold
- Production companies
- The Picture Company, Municipal Pictures and 12:01 Films
- Recent Carnahan success
- The Rip recorded more than 41 million Netflix views in its first three days and reached No. 1 in 93 countries.