Apr 7, 2007 - M Night Shyamalan has found a leading man for his upcoming thriller, The Happening. Hot off his Academy Award-nominated role in Martin Scorsese's The Departed, Mark Wahlberg has signed on to 20th Century Fox's The Happening which will begin shooting in August.

According to Variety, Wahlberg will star as a husband and father who tries to save his family from a cataclysmic event. Fox plans on releasing Shyamalan's thriller on Friday, June 13th, 2008.

In an interview with Variety Shyamalan said, "Mark has a unique blend of charisma, humanity, authenticity and skillfulness as an actor, all of which coalesced at this moment in his career, making him the perfect person to take on the role of Eliot Moore, the science teacher at the center of this event."

Shyamalan's last film Lady in the Water was bashed by critics and didn't perform well at the box office.

Wahlberg was recently seen in Antoine Fuqua's Shooter and recently wrapped production on We Own the Night.

Source: Variety