2018's Instant Family, which features Mark Wahlberg as its lead, features the popular actor teaming up with Isabela Merced, who was actually in Transformers: The Last Knight with him. Instantly Family follows a married couple (Wahlberg and Rose Byrne) who adopt a teenager named Lizzy (Merced) and her two younger siblings. The earnest family comedy did well upon release and has found renewed life as a hit on Netflix.

The timing of Merced is currently shining as a standout in The Last of Us season 2. However, even fans of the comedy film, the hit HBO show, and the Transformers franchise likely didn't realize that Merced and Wahlberg had shared the screen before because her appearance in the blockbuster franchise is actually kind of hidden.

Instant Family's Mark Wahlberg & Isabela Merced Previously Appeared Together In Transformers: The Last Knight

It's Understandable If You Missed It

Izabela upset in Transformers: The Last Knight

The aptly named Izabella is a character in Transformers: The Last Knight who is played by Isabela Merced, years before her true breakout in Hollywood. Of course, the lead of that film is Mark Wahlberg, who played protagonist Cade Yeager in the fourth and fifth installments of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise. The reason this connection between Merced and Wahlberg has gone unnoticed by so many is that she doesn't go by Isabela Merced in the films.

She ultimately chose to change her stage name to Merced to honor her grandmother and pay homage to her Peruvian roots.

Merced is actually credited as Isabela Moner for this 2017 film. She is also credited that way for her appearances in Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Dora and the Lost City of Gold, as well as Instant Family. A lot of people have likely stumbled upon Instant Family on Netflix and recognized Merced from her recent projects only for the names to be different. She ultimately chose to change her stage name to Merced to honor her grandmother and pay homage to her Peruvian roots (via Billboard).

Isabela Merced's Career Has Grown Massively Since Her Transformers Appearance

Merced Is Now Part Of Some Iconic Franchises

Following the success of Instant Family and her leading role in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Isabela Merced started to truly blossom as an actor. She landed a part alongside Jason Momoa in Netflix's Sweet Girl, appeared in 2022's Father of the Bride remake, and had a role in the unfortunately maligned Madame Web film. However, Merced is getting another shot at playing a superhero, appearing as Hawkgirl in the Superman movie and Peacemaker season 2.

The past few years have been huge for Merced, first with her landing a key role in Alien: Romulus, ing an iconic film franchise. The Superman is obviously going to be huge for her but most people likely recognize Merced as Dina in season 2 of The Last of Us, where her performance is consistently being hailed as one of the best aspects of the well-received HBO series. She also had another reunion there, teaming back up with Kaitlyn Dever after they worked together in Rosaline in 2022.

Mark Wahlberg has been one of the biggest names in Hollywood for a long time and now Isabela Merced is climbing the ladder to huge success as well after appearing in two movies with him. She's a rising star, making it all the more interesting to go back and watch projects like Instant Family and Transformers: The Last Knight.