Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry Discuss 'The Union' Sequel

Related Content 'The Union': Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry Night Thriller Series in Development Those likely would work for the The future, but *Wahlbergerational,* a less certain fate.

The new Netflix movie 'The Union,' available for streaming now, has ignited debate about a possible sequel after receiving mixed reviews regarding Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry's first on-screen team up. The film, directed by Julian Farino introduces audiences to New Jersey construction worker Mike McKenna (Wahlberg) and his high school sweetheart Roxanne Hall (Berry), who sucks him into her clandestine world of international espionage.

The movie ends on a note that teases further adventures for Mike and Roxanne, teasing what could be next for the two of them. The cast and director appeared in a recent interview with Variety, where they talked about why there was no romantic climax between the leads so as to leave some anticipation for it if at all audiences get lucky enough. According to Farino, Netflix considered 'The Union' a trilogy from the jump and broke down how they wrote it with future seasons in mind.

Speaking of the deliberate decision to postpone a romantic resolution for these two characters, Halle Berry said in comments "As soon as they kiss, then it's over. We hope [laughs], if we ever get to do a second one, that the chase can continue. The journey — you want to see these two high school sweethearts make it. Wahlberg added, hinting at what a follow-up could explore in terms of moving beyond the initial spark:

But the road to 'The Union 2' is littered with hurdles. Critics have not been kind to the film, which has a 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an even lower one of 29% among audiences. That feedback, of course could hurt the sequels—if there are any —since bad reviews tend to make studios reluctant about forging ahead with more projects.

That said, if for nothing else than a vehicle for Wahlberg and Berry to team up as two ass-kicking characters who you wouldn't mind seeing in another movie, I suspect this film ends wide open at the conclusion because of sequel possibilities. As the narrative progresses, Marrakech arrives as their next mission implying more adventures are coming henceforth.

With Netflix gauging the reception of viewers and balancing that with reviews against franchise potential, The Union's future is a bit up in the air. And it will most likely come down to whether the streamer sees more in Wahlberg and Berry's star talents — which the first movie didn't quite elicit audiences back for a second round of heightened danger, sexual awakenings.

That promises intrigue mixed with a bit of personal drama for his fans and action-espionage junkies, along with the bigger question: Will Netflix hit again or stick on 16 in this game? The idea of 'The Union 2' is just another in a long line within Hollywood that yet again shows spy thrillers are never outGunnelles and Weiss have shopped their script to studios, with -- most recently Universal-based Working Title for this pic.