Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan and Kit Harington Say 'The Family Plan 2' Was "Fun, Hectic, and a Whole Lot Harder Than It Looks"

The Morgan family is back in Apple TV's 'The Family Plan 2,' but very few things remain the same in the saga starring Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, and now Kit Harrington. Yes, Mr. Jon Snow himself. The kids are bigger, the mom is about to have her own life, and they are going to Europe for the holidays. Hey, everybody knows Dan used to be a covert assassin, so what else is there to discover, and what could go wrong?

Well, a lot, and not as you may expect it, or even as the cast or the director expected it, as they explained during interviews with The Latin Times and ENSTARZ.

For starters, the stunts are crazier. "You sign up thinking it's cool, and then when you get there, you regret it," Mark Wahlberg joked when remembering the physically demanding stunt scenes. Shooting fights in a bell tower and on a moving bus sounded exciting in the script, but once the choreography, timing, safety rigs, and travel kicked in, it became a completely different experience. "Especially on a moving bus... but you recover, and it lives forever," he added with a grin.

For Harington, the experience meant checking a big box. "When a project like this lands on your doorstep and it says 'a Mark Wahlberg film,' you say happily yes. I'd seen the first one, actually, and really loved it. So I was excited," he said. Yet he doesn't try to hide that the chance to play antagonist opposite Wahlberg and to have many fight scenes with him was "a big win for me. It's a big tick."

The cast spoke from London, where they filmed a major part of 'The Family Plan 2'. Going back meant remembering how it was to make the mix of adrenaline, comedy and chaos defines the film. The Morgan family is forced back into spy-level survival mode while still dealing with everyday parenting struggles like curfews, careers, independence, and growing up. For Wahlberg, those emotional threads hit harder this time. "My daughter going off to college... kids growing up... It's hard," he admitted. "My wife and I are bracing ourselves."

Michelle Monaghan returns as Jessica Morgan, and this time, she finally gets her own action spotlight. "Jessica gets to utilize her strengths as a decathlete... and I just thought that was so fun," she said. Filming across London and Paris only amplified the energy. "I was so excited. Audiences get to live vicariously through them while watching them have this new international adventure," she explained.

Monaghan also tried to balance filming with real life. Rather than spend months alone abroad, she brought her family with her. "I called my husband and said, you guys have to come to London. We're going to have Christmas here," she shared. The family decorated a tree, ice-skated and created new memories while she worked. "That made filming abroad a lot more meaningful," she added.

Director Simon Cellan Jones also returned for the sequel, and scaling the world of the Morgans was part of the plan from day one. "Every director wants to do action... we like smashing things... blowing things up," he laughed. But building large-scale stunts in two major European cities wasn't simple. "It was terrifying, but it was a real thrill," he admitted.

The cast agreed that filming abroad felt like a reset. The younger actors especially noticed how much had changed since the first movie. "I turned 20 filming the first one and couldn't drink or gamble in Vegas. This time I turned 22 in London," one of them shared.

They also revealed a hilarious generational clash with the soundtrack. "There was one song Simon wanted us to sing and we didn't know it. Some Irish jig," they laughed. "We were like... Simon, no one knows this."

The biggest addition to the sequel is Kit Harington, who steps into a darker role as an antagonist. According to Jones, the role allowed the actor to shake expectations. "He really enjoyed playing a character with a darker side... he gave his character a lot of depth," the director shared. "Watching him go head-to-head with Mark Wahlberg was wonderful."

Zoe Colletti, Van Crosby, and Reda Elazouar (the boyfriend) deliver the necessary political background, generational tension, and unexpected moments.

Even with villains, stunts, jet lag, and tight schedules, the cast kept the tone light. When asked to describe the experience in one word, the younger cast answered instantly: "Hectic," said Crosby. "Fun," added Colletti. And then came the final mic-drop response:
"I'll just say... hi, Daddy," delivered in Elazouar's character of Omar's dramatic French accent, followed by laughter.

So what about a third movie?

The cast didn't promise anything, but they didn't shut it down either. When the idea of a South American setting was suggested, Wahlberg's reaction was instant:
"Buenos Aires. A vineyard. I like that."

Jones smiled and played diplomatically. "We'll see how this one does... You never know."

Whether or not part three happens, one thing is clear: the Morgans aren't done growing, fighting, or learning how to function as a very unconventional normal family.

And based on their energy, neither is the cast.