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The Uncharted movie is finally about to land on the big screen. The video game adaptation has had a rocky road to release, but after many years and several directors (more on that later), we’re set to see Tom Holland take on the role of Nathan Drake in a matter of days. Mark Wahlberg joins him as Drake’s mentor Sully, and we’ve got the full lowdown on the rest of their fellow castmates below.
We’ve also brought you a breakdown of the movie’s trailers, as well as some exclusive quotes from Holland (including how the idea for the movie stemmed from a failed young James Bond pitch), and plenty of other plot details and official images to whet your appetite for the upcoming swashbuckling adventure. And that’s just the start of it – so, for all that and more, scroll on to find out everything we know so far about the Uncharted movie.
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Uncharted movie release date
The first Uncharted movie release date was way back in 2016 – suffice it to say, it’s been delayed a few times. The movie now has a final resting place of February 18, 2022.
The movie will also be coming to Netflix, too. Thanks to a new deal, Netflix has exclusive rights to stream Sony’s theatrical releases – which includes Uncharted, Venom 2, and Morbius. However, these movies won’t be on Netflix at the same time as they are in theaters, but will land on the platform within a two-year period after its theatrical release.
Uncharted movie trailer
There are a few Uncharted trailers on the internet. In the first, we see Tom Holland in action as Nathan Drake, meeting Mark Wahlberg’s Sully. There’s also a set-piece straight from the games, with Nathan tumbling from a plane and trying to climb cargo to get back inside.
Sony has released a second trailer, teasing more of the Uncharted movie, and even featuring Sully with his iconic moustache. There’s also a little more information on Antonio Banderas’ character, who looks set to battle with his own family legacy as well as Drake.
Uncharted movie cast
Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is going from one universally-loved hero to another with Uncharted’s Nathan Drake, playing a younger version of the character than seen in the games. Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg will portray seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan, who acts as Drake’s mentor. Nolan North, voice of Nathan Drake in the games, has praised Holland’s performance in the movie.
Other key cast members include Truth or Dare’s Sophia Taylor Ali, playing Chloe Frazer, a fellow treasure hunter who was introduced in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and led the spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. The games reveal Frazer has a romantic past with Drake – could the movie show us what happened between the two?
Antonio Banderas will have a key role in the movie, playing the villain. There’s no word on whether the Zorro actor’s character previously appeared in the games, though rumors suggest he’s an original creation for the movie.
The primary cast is rounded out by Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Tati Gabrielle, whose character is also unknown. Could she be playing Drake’s eventual wife, journalist Elena Fisher, who already has a working relationship when Drake’s Fortune kicks off? It’s implied that her documenting of Drake’s treasure-finding escapades in the games was the beginning of their partnership. If Elena does make an appearance in the Uncharted movie, it won’t likely be until the end.
Uncharted movie plot
It’s not a coincidence that Uncharted’s cast is led by actors considerably younger than the video game characters they portray. The movie will be a prequel to the game series, picking up before the events of the first game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, though not necessarily directly tied to the games (this isn’t canon, in case you care about that sort of thing, so the filmmakers may take this in a different direction by the movie’s end).
An official synopsis for the film has been released. “Based on one of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed video game series of all time, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in the dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.”
Holland has recently teased what we can expect from the movie. “Uncharted is a film I finished last year,” he told Total Film. “It’s Mark Wahlberg and myself. It’s a prequel to the Naughty Dog game series, Uncharted. I play Nathan Drake. Ruben Fleischer is our director, and he did an amazing job. I’m really chuffed with it. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s epic. It’s going to be really entertaining. The action sequences are some of the coolest sequences that I’ve ever done. So I’m super-excited about that.”
He also revealed that he put on “timber” for the role, telling Total Film: “When we went to set for the first time, I saw Mark Wahlberg [who plays mentor figure Sully], and Mark is massive. He is a unit. I was in good shape, but I wasn’t by any means big.” A few days later, the set was closed down due to Covid. “We went home for five months, all I did was eat and train, eat and train, eat and train – to put a bit of timber on, to make me look not like a child next to Mark.”
Previously, Holland seemed to be worried about his performance in the movie, admitting to GQ that “there are elements of my performance in Uncharted where I kind of fell under that spell of being ‘I want to look good now’ rather than ‘playing a character.'” He added: “As soon as you start worrying about ‘Do I look good in this shot?’ acting becomes something other than playing a character,” continuing, “I think there are elements of my performance in Uncharted where I kind of fell under that spell of being ‘I want to look good now. I want this to be my cool moment’… But it was an important lesson learned, because, at times, it was less about land a mark and go through this scene and more about land a mark, stand like this and see my bulging biceps… It was a mistake and is something that I will probably never do again.”
However, he has assured us all that the movie will be for everyone. “For the fans that love the games, they’re getting an aspect of the story that they’ve never seen before,” he told Den of Geek (opens in new tab). “The people that haven’t played the games are getting a really nice introduction to a character. It kind of works for everyone.”
Uncharted movie director
There have been a few Uncharted directors… First off, David O. Russell – best known for American Hustle – was the first person attached to write and direct. Wahlberg, who worked with Russell on The Fighter, revealed during an interview with MTV in 2010 that he was excited by the director’s work, saying: “I’m obviously in whatever David wants to do but the idea of it is so off the charts: Robert De Niro being my father, Joe Pesci being my uncle. It’s not going to be the watered-down version, that’s for sure.”
However, due to work beginning on Silver Linings Playbook, Russell soon left the project, and Neil Burger – coming off the back of Limitless in 2011 – was brought aboard and re-wrote the script. That placement then fell through in 2012 after Ruger went to direct the Divergent movies, and, in 2014, Seth Gordon – director of Horrible Bosses – was hired. Chris Pratt then declined the role of Nathan Drake, and Gordon left the project to helm a Baywatch movie.
Later, in 2015, a script written by David Guggenhein appeared online as part of the infamous Sony leaks. Script notes from Wahlberg asked the writers to cut back on the “buddy movie” nature “making it clearly Drake’s story” rather than one fronted by Sully and Drake. At one point, there were also three villains, though this was cut down to two.
By the time 2016 came around, Stranger Things director Shawn Levy was at the helm, until Dan Trachtenberg took over in early 2019. Bumblebee director Travis Knight assumed directorial duties from Trachtenberg in September later that year, and left in December due to Holland’s conflicting schedule filming Spider-Man 3.
Finally, after all that, Rubun Fleischer came on board in 2020. Director of both Zombieland and Venom, Fleischer completed what no-one else could – he actually filmed an Uncharted movie.
The final screenplay came from Iron Man and Men in Black: International duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, who took over from Jonathan Rosenberg and Mark Walker. Before that, there were numerous other drafts, including ones by Agents of Shield writer Rafe Judkins (who still has a writing credit on IMDB), Bad Boys for Life’s Joe Carnahan (who called his R-rated script “a beast” with “four of the biggest, f***in’ craziest action sequences I think I’ve ever written”), and many more before them.
Uncharted movie will be a first for Sony
PlayStation Productions is a Sony subsidiary that’s signed on to produce the Uncharted movie. The studio previously produced the 2014 animated film Heavenly Sword and 2016’s Ratchet & Clank for digital release, though Uncharted is the studio’s first project slated for a wide theatrical release. PlayStation Productions is also working on The Last of Us HBO series.
