Things to Remember Before the Uncharted Movie

Things to Remember Before the Uncharted Movie

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re listing out the things to remember before seeing the upcoming Uncharted Movie!

For this list, we’ll be looking at the details you need to know so you get the full experience when you go to watch the upcoming film adaptation of the popular video game series.

What do you think about the upcoming Uncharted movie? Are there any details we missed? Discuss in the comments!

What is Uncharted About?

For anybody who doesn’t know already, the Uncharted movie is based off of one of the Playstation’s most popular and highly rated IPs, spanning a few console generations. It’s a globe-trotting, treasure-hunting, action adventure game series that has been likened to classic Hollywood, much in-part to it’s narrative-focus and high production value, taking inspiration from titles like Indiana Jones. Its wise-cracking protagonist, Nathan Drake, has undertaken journeys to El Dorado, the Iram of the Pillars and Shambala, shooting through henchmen with a quip or two along the way. Hence, we’re expecting the big screen version to contain lots of high-octane action in the pursuit of riches

Who Are These Characters?

From the trailers, people recognised the headlining cast immediately. We have MCU heavyweight Tom Holland, blockbuster star Mark Wahlberg and Faking It / Grey’s Anatomy actress Sophia Taylor Ali. But who are they playing in relation to the game? Holland is taking up the role of Nathan Drake; the tenacious, charismatic and resourceful loot-hunting protagonist of the games. Wahlberg will be portraying Victor “Sully” Sullivan; a wise, sarcastic, fortune seeking businessman and father-figure to Nathan. Given the two’s relationship in the games we’re likely to see some fun back and forth banter between the duo. Ali’s character is Chloe Frazer; a badass thief for hire with a dry sense of humour. She’s also served as a love interest to Drake, so there is no doubt that will be a factor, unless video game deuteragonist Elena Fisher shows up. Antonio Banderas and Tati Gabrielle have also been cast in the movie, but we’re yet to find out if they are existing characters or new ones entirely.

Who’s Involved In The Film?

While the actors are perhaps what everyone is focused on, it’s also important to note who’s behind the camera. The film is being directed by Ruben Fleischer, who has some experience leading action movies with a sense of humour. You might remember some of his more notable work from 2009’s “Zombieland” and Sony’s jab at the symbiote Marvel Villain in 2018’s “Venom.” If you’re worried about how the writing is going to turn out, we have screenplay writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway onboard, who worked on “Iron Man” and “Men in Black: International.” Rafe Judkins, who wrote for “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is also on the team. Interestingly, the cinematography is by Chung-hoon Chung, who contributed to 2003’s classic “Oldboy”, Stephen King’s “It” from 2017 and has been credited on the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series! It’s worth noting that this stellar cast and crew have been notoriously hard to lockdown though.

It’s Been On The Table For A Long Time

Video game adaptations have never had the best reputation. It's incredibly hard transitioning an interactive medium when the player is controlling the main character into a purely visual form. Given the very “movie-esque” qualities of the original series, it seems like this would have a better chance than most to be successful. That didn’t help game developers Naughty Dog all that much though. An Uncharted film has been ripe for a live-action adaptation for almost a decade, with earliest reports stemming all the way back in 2008. But why has it taken so long to finally reach screens? You can probably guess: development hell. The film has had countless directors and actors involved in pre-production, but none have ever stayed on it for too long. In 2010, David O. Russell was interested in making the film with Wahlberg attached to star. However, his vision and alterations to the source material didn’t sit well and were abandoned in 2011. In 2018, director Allan Ungar teamed up with Nathan Fillion as Drake and Stephen Lang as Sully to create a well received fan film! But this didn’t go anywhere despite fans applauding the casting of Fillion.

What The Plot’s Going To Look Like?

So with all that troubled production, what are we in for? The film is reportedly taking the prequel route and is set before the events of the games. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a young Nathan Drake, since “Uncharted 4: A Thief's End” gave us flashbacks to Drake’s past, including an introduction to his brother Sam. The character Sam is mentioned in the trailers, but we’re unsure if he will actually appear in the film. One important thing to note is that they are going to be canonically separate. This is likely to avoid any fan backlash. We also see during the trailers a scene where Nathan is falling from a cargo plane much like in “Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception”. So what it appears is while the movie will be allowed to explore new plotlines, they will also pull iconic moments from the franchise in order to appeal to the existing fan base. The story will likely consist of a young Drake and Sully pulling together for the first time, attempting to steal some treasure while competing with the major villain of the story. At the very least, we’re hoping it makes for a fun time!