Mark Wahlberg Regrets Working On This Infamous Sci-Fi Thriller

"The Happening" isn't regarded as one of Mark Wahlberg's best movies, and the "Transformers: Age of Extinction" star would be the first to agree with this sentiment. Director M. Night Shyamalan's critically panned 2008 sci-fi thriller has Wahlberg playing a science teacher who finds himself caught up in a nature-induced apocalypse that causes trees, plants, and wind to rage against humanity. At the time, it was a change of pace from the macho roles Wahlberg was accustomed to, but it seems that he regrets lending his talents to the maligned flick.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2010, Wahlberg recalled how Amy Adams, his co-star in "The Fighter," was once lined up to play Zooey Deschanel's character (who's married to Wahlberg's character) in "The Happening." Unfortunately, she didn't get the gig, but Wahlberg believed it was for the best. "She dodged the bullet," he said before going on to diss the movie. "'The Happening.' F*** it. It is what it is. F***ing trees, man. The plants. F*** it. You can't blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn't playing a cop or a crook."

For actors looking to branch out, starring in an apocalyptic tree movie is arguably the most literal way of doing so. Still, it's a shame that "The Happening" didn't reap the rewards Wahlberg hoped for when he initially joined the project (presumably, he was expecting the film to be better-received than it was). The good news, though, is that Shyamalan isn't mad at him for trashing the flick.

"The Happening" was ravaged by critics, with the majority arguing that it's an inconsistent mess. That said, some people have grown to regard "The Happening" as the entertaining B-movie classic that it is. Mark Wahlberg's views don't represent everyone's opinion of the film, but M. Night Shyamalan believes that the actor was entitled to speak his mind.

"It's totally his call. However he wants to interpret it," Shyamalan told Vulture in 2019 when asked to share his thoughts on Wahlberg's criticism of the film. The "Split" filmmaker noted Wahlberg wasn't the first actor to publicly bash a movie they worked on together, so he probably didn't lose any sleep over one person's negative comments about "The Happening."

Given that some of Wahlberg's other sci-fi flops have found a new lease of life on streaming, there is still hope for "The Happening" finding more widespread appreciation someday. For Wahlberg, though, it's a chapter of his career he'd rather forget, although Shyamalan believes the haters might have misread the film's true intentions.

With "The Happening," M. Night Shyamalan set out to make a fun B-movie that harkened back to the apocalyptic cult classics of yesteryear. Despite Mark Wahlberg and the other cast members delivering stone-faced performances through the film's ridiculous moments of plant-themed chaos, the director thinks the intended humor was lost on audiences.

"I think I was inconsistent," he said in the aforementioned Vulture interview. "That's why they couldn't see it." The director added that he was inspired by movies like "The Blob," the alien invasion yarn about a jelly-like extra-terrestrial that consumes the residents of a small town. However, that film arguably does a better job at projecting its non-serious qualities, whereas "The Happening" is too deadpan for some folks' taste buds.

Fortunately, "The Happening" underperforming didn't derail the filmmaker's career. While Shyamalan understands why critics dislike his movies, he continues to enjoy a fruitful run in Hollywood, making flicks that align with his unique artistic vision. Whether you love or hate Shyamalan twisty-turny thrillers, there's no denying that they get people talking.