The typical plot of an assassin on the run gets a fun twist in Apple TV+’s upcoming movie The Family Plan, which premieres on the streaming service on December 15. Mark Wahlberg stars as Dan Morgan, a suburban car salesman and father of three who leads an idyllic life with his wife Jessica (Michelle Monaghan, Echoes). But what his family doesn’t know is that he used to be a contract killer and his long-buried past is coming for them all.
The movie directed by Simon Cellan Jones, who also collaborated with Wahlberg on Arthur the King, set to be released in 2024. was revealed last year. The Family Plan also stars Zoe Colletti, Van Crosby, Saïd Taghmaoui, Maggie Q, and Ciarán Hinds. Such an eclectic cast underscores how the movie blends action, comedy, and family drama seamlessly once Dan is forced to take his wife and kids on a surprise road trip to keep them safe from harm — and keep his secret identity safe from them.
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Screen Rant interviewed director Simon Cellan Jones about teaming up with Mark Wahlberg for The Family Plan after their experience together on Arthur the King, focusing on practical effects, and working with babies.
Simon Cellan Jones Talks The Family Plan
Screen Rant: I read that you were directing Mark Wahlberg in Arthur the King when this script came up, and I love that. What do you like best about the creative partnership with him and how would you say your dynamic evolved in this film?
Simon Cellan Jones: Well, he’s a huge, big movie star. He’s done so many things. You could be daunted by the idea, but it turns out he’s really easy to work with. That’s the number one thing for me. He’s just really good as well, so he makes me look good. Because I turn up, he’s brilliant, and then I go, “Okay, cut.” But the way it evolved was we had a great time on the other film, Arthur the King.
This time, I was maybe just a little more experienced, a little more confident, and we had a shorthand with each other. It was really easy. I knew the people he worked with, and he was so excited about this film. That’s what you want from your actors. You want them to be committed and excited about what they’re doing. So, it was a really great movement forward.
I think one of the strengths of the story is that Jessica really gets to have had a life before her husband as well, so we learn more about her as we go. And I think part of that is really helped by the innate chemistry between Mark and Michelle. Can you talk about having them work together and bringing out the best in that relationship?
Simon Cellan Jones: Well, that’s the joy of having Michelle Monaghan work with Mark. What that meant was her character instantly became kind of an equal, rather than playing a second fiddle. You believed the two of them together. They were fun together. They liked each other. They looked after each other. They both liked to improv. They both liked to work fast. So I was just so lucky to have that double act.
The whole family is really great on screen together, but I think the standout has to be Baby Max. How do you work with babies? How do you get them to react appropriately and keep them safe?
Simon Cellan Jones: I think, first of all, it’s really important to treat them well. Even though they’re 18 months old, they can’t tell you when they’re angry, except by crying. Obviously, we don’t want to make them cry. I think you need to be patient, but I think you need to treat them as humans, rather than just some odd thing.
And I think this is where Mark and Michelle were very good. They were super patient, and Zoe and Van also would look after our Baby Max. It was a few times I was going, “Oh my God, this film’s never going to work.” Because I think it’s a really important character. But in the editing room, I was going, “Oh, maybe it will work actually because this baby’s pretty good.”
I read that you guys wanted to do the action as practically as possible. How do you negotiate that? What goes into deciding, “This is how we’re going to be able to make this work?” How do you collaborate with the stunt teams or action choreographers for that?
Simon Cellan Jones: Well, I think the word is collaboration. You want it to look incredibly dangerous and frightening, but you don’t want to risk your actors. You want to be respectful. You don’t want them to get badly hurt, but you don’t want them to sprain their ankle or whatever. So, it’s really important to map stuff out, to be working with professionals.
Sean, our stunt coordinator, has worked with Mark for ages, and he’s worked with me before as well. We had Scott, our second unit director, had worked on some John Wick films. So, he was really good. I think you map it out. You try and get the actors to do as much of the real stuff as you can, and you try not to do millions of cuts, cuts, cuts, because then everyone can tell it’s fake. And also, you try and be careful about CGI. Because again, even though CGI is really sophisticated these days, audiences are equally sophisticated, and they know when they’re being fooled.
Is there any one set piece or sequence that was the most challenging for you to bring to fruition?
Simon Cellan Jones: A few of them were, but yes, certainly the supermarket fight was tricky because t was very early. I’d perhaps over-confidently scheduled it in the second week of filming, which in hindsight, I won’t do it again. And it was almost the first scene with the baby. And initially, it was like, “Oh my God, is this going to work?” Because you see what’s happening. And the baby’s going, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. What are you doing this for? Get my agent here. I don’t want this kind of stuff.” So, that was the real challenge.
And a lot of us, at the end of the first day, we went home in shell shock. But actually, we went back and back, and we shot extra coverage and stuff like that. And it ended up being kind of great actually, the scene.
Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet, you’ve gotten more confidence, what plans do you have next? You’re tackling even larger scale action, perhaps another team-up with Mark, what’s going on?
Simon Cellan Jones: All of the above, yeah. I definitely would love to work with Mark again. We talked about the odd thing, but I don’t know what. I mean, I’ve been working like three years on the bounce now. So, I’ve got a family of course. So I’m away a lot. So, I’ve got to be careful I don’t forget about them. But no, I’m just coming out the other side. Yeah, I mean the bigger movie thing, it’s fun. I’ve got to tell you, I mean the TV work I’ve done, I’m very proud of, and it’s really good. But this is a different level and it’s really exciting.
About The Family Plan
Dan Morgan (Mark Wahlberg) loves his quiet suburban life as a devoted husband, father of three and successful car salesman. But that’s only half the story. Decades earlier, he was an elite government assassin tasked with eliminating the world’s deadliest threats. When enemies from his past track him down, Dan packs his unsuspecting wife (Michelle Monaghan), angsty teen daughter, pro-gamer teen son, and adorable 10-month-old baby into their minivan and takes off on an impromptu cross-country road trip to Las Vegas. Determined to protect his family — while treating them to the vacation of a lifetime — Dan must put his long-dormant skills into action, without revealing his true identity.
Check out our other interview with Zoe Colletti and Van Crosby.
The Family Plan
The Family Plan is an AppleTV+ original action comedy movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan. The film revolves around a former assassin named Dan who is forced to go on the run with his family after the dangers of his career catch up to him. The Family Plan is directed by Simon Cellan Jones and written by David Coggeshall.
- Release Date
- December 15, 2024
- Director
- Simon Cellan Jones
- Cast
- Mark Wahlberg , Michelle Monaghan , Zoe Colletti , Van Crosby , Saïd Taghmaoui , Maggie Q , Ciarán Hinds
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genres
- Action , Comedy
- Writers
- David Coggeshall
- Studio(s)
- Apple , Skydance , Municipal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Apple
