Presumably due to his recent casting in the upcoming Need For Speed film, Aaron Paul has dropped out of HBO’s The Missionary. Replacing him is Benjamin Walker, who recently starred as Honest Abe in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
The Charles Randolph (The Interpreter) penned drama is set in the 1960s and takes place during the Cold War. Walker will play a missionary who finds himself involved with the CIA as he tries to help a young woman escape from East Berlin.
THR reports that HBO darlings Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson will produce with Contraband‘s Baltasar Kormakur set to direct the pilot.
Though Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter didn’t exactly perform as expected, I enjoyed Walker’s performance quite a bit. Though I do think Paul is a better actor, I’m happy that the Breaking Bad star is starting to make his way into film. He’s an extremely talented individual and he deserves some more recognition.
Benjamin Walker is a perfectly fine replacement for Paul and I’m sure he’ll do just fine in the role. No telling if the pilot will get picked up but with the talent already on board, there’s a good bet that it will.