Joe Carnahan to Direct Mark Wahlberg in Netflix Action Thriller 'The Operator'

Joe Carnahan has signed on to direct The Operator, a Netflix action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg, according to Deadline.

The film follows an ex-Tier One Operator — a former member of the military's highest-level special forces units — who now earns a living as one of the CIA's invisible clean-up men. His latest assignment forces him to shepherd his most hated target to safety in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game. Wahlberg takes the lead role.

Harrison Query wrote the screenplay, having sold the original spec script (an original, non-commissioned screenplay shopped to buyers) to Netflix in December 2025 in what was described as a highly competitive situation. Query has become a increasingly familiar name at the streamer: Netflix also recently acquired his series The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, and a separate Query project, the Joel Edgerton series Trigger Point, was set to enter production through Netflix and A24 in January.

The producing team behind The Operator spans several banners. Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona are producing through their company, The Picture Company. Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson produce via Municipal Pictures, their own banner. Scott Glassgold's 12:01 Films rounds out the producing credits.

Carnahan's attachment comes on the heels of a strong showing with Netflix. His Miami cop thriller The Rip, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and produced by their Artists Equity company, scored more than 41 million views in its first three days on the platform in January. It opened at No. 1, charted in 93 countries, and delivered Netflix its biggest film opening since Happy Gilmore 2.

Carnahan's earlier work spans two decades of action and crime cinema: Narc (2002), Smokin' Aces (2006), The Grey (2011), and Copshop (2021). He is represented by CAA and the law firm Paul Hastings.

No production start date or release window for The Operator has been announced.