The Uncharted movie: Should it be cancelled?

A big-screen version of Uncharted is a treasure that Hollywood has been chasing for years. Should they continue pursuing it, or is it better to just let this artifact go?

Movies are monumental undertakings, and getting them off the ground can be a tough task even in the best of times. Few projects exemplify that struggle as much as the Uncharted film. Based on the acclaimed platforming video games, this unfortunate adaptation has been stuck in development hell for over a decade.

Often hailed as the modern Indiana Jones, the Uncharted series follows the globe-trotting adventures of Nathan Drake, a brash treasure hunter with a quick wit and a chip on his shoulder. He sees himself as the descendant of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake, and he regularly seeks out lost artifacts and ancient civilizations to prove himself and satisfy his lust for adventure. Along the way, Nate must run, jump, climb, and shoot his way past a plethora of obstacles and outmaneuver enemies who want the treasures for their own unscrupulous means.

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You might think that such a premise would be a prime target for adaptation. The games are already so cinematic that translating them to the big screen would be an easy task, right? Not exactly. An Uncharted film movie has been in the works since 2009, trading directors and writers like cards, changing the premise, and constantly coming up with new promises for fans.

Initially, it looked as if David O. Russell (The Fighter, American Hustle) would take the helm, but this prospect didn’t last long. After Russell’s departure, the project was taken up by a revolving door of other directors. These included Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, 2017’s Baywatch), Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Real Steel), and Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee).

The latest filmmaker to carry the torch is Ruben Fleischer, the man behind the Zombieland films and Venom. He’s still attached to the movie, but whether or not he sticks around is anyone’s guess.

The script has also undergone several changes since the first pitch. The aforementioned Burger was set to write the screenplay in addition to directing. Once he left, Marianna and Cormac Wibberley of National Treasure fame were brought it for rewrites. Then, Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) came in to rewrite the script again when Gordon was the director.

Perhaps the most significant name surrounding the writing position has been Joe Carnahan (2010’s The A-Team, The Grey), who stayed on for a while and even teased fans with social media photos and hints of what to expect from the action scenes. However, these hopes were undermined once more when news of yet another rewrite came. It was revealed that Rafe Judkins (Chuck, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) was brought in to rework Carnahan’s script. Additional contributions were provided by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man, Transformers: The Last Knight).

In the midst of all this, it’s hardly surprising that no one really had a clear idea of the story. Was it going to take a Sopranos-style approach to Nate and his family of thieves? Would it simply be an adaptation of the first game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune? What could we expect from this flick?

Well, it looks like the version they’re going with is a prequel story about a younger Nathan Drake. The star will be Tom Holland, best known for playing Spider-Man in Marvel’s Avengers movies. Joining him is Mark Wahlberg (Ted, Patriots Day) as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Nate’s grizzled mentor. It really shows how long this project has been in development when you consider that Wahlberg was originally in talks to play Nate himself back when Russell was directing.

In addition, the cast is set to include Antonio Banderas. He’s no stranger to genre properties due to his work as Zorro, Puss in Boots, and various characters in Robert Rodriguez’s flicks, but his role in the Uncharted movie remains unclear. Also in unspecified roles are Tati Gabrielle and Sophia Ali, known for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Grey’s Anatomy, respectively. With the pieces supposedly in place, Uncharted is expected to hit theaters on March 5, 2021.

Now, I ask you readers: what is the point? Even though things look to be on track, there are no guarantees here. Nothing in this film’s history has indicated that it won’t undergo further changes or delays. Promising something for 10 years tends to diminish one’s faith. For all we know, it may continue to be pushed back and reworked.

In turn, Holland may grow too old to play the proposed “younger” Nathan Drake, forcing the studio to either find someone else or revise the premise yet again. In conjunction, as the project begins to look less and less enticing, the filmmakers may desire to change the approach even more to draw certain stars back in. As such, it will be stuck in a vicious cycle for countless years to come.

Assuming the movie ever does get made, the odds of it hitting the mark are hardly encouraging. After all, how many projects with prolonged and/or turbulent development processes have actually come out on top? Sure, we’ve seen success stories in the form of Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

However, these victories are far outweighed by the number of films that turned out to be critical and/or commercial failures. Examples include John Carter, 2019’s Hellboy, Blade Runner 2049, Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, the Ghostbusters remake, 2015’s Fantastic Four, and the long, sad history of Terminator sequels post-T2.

If you wait too long to release a product, then the audiences tend to lose interest, thus decreasing the demand for that product. Alternatively, if a project is continually tweaked, then it runs the risk of being utterly unrecognizable as the same property and alienating its would-be audience. I don’t need to tell you that this also results in a flop.

Plus, Uncharted is a video game adaptation, and those have a well-known history of disappointment. After about thirty years of attempts, the only ones that are generally considered successful are the recent Sonic the Hedgehog flick and a couple of Netflix shows: Castlevania and The Witcher (kind of).

Add to this the fact that the game franchise in question has been dormant for some time. The last entry in the series was 2017’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a spin-off that didn’t even feature Nathan Drake, instead shifting the focus to fan-favorite merc Chloe Frazer. This could further contribute to the film’s loss, as the hype is not exactly at its highest point.

At least the recently-announced HBO prequel to The Last of Us comes while the property is fresh in people’s minds. The highly anticipated sequel game, The Last of Us Part II, will hit store shelves in June. As a result, the showrunners may get some free publicity.

In the end, it’s hard to be optimistic for the unfortunate Uncharted movie. It’s changed hands so many times at this point and will probably do so again. Who’s to say that the filmmakers currently attached won’t walk out on the project as well? It seems like the creatives in Hollywood simply don’t know what to do with this property.

Even on the off chance that it actually gets to theaters, it’s extremely likely that it will turn out to be a failure. With all of these factors against this project, it might be more merciful to just put the Uncharted film out of its misery.

Are you excited for this movie? Do you like the direction that it’s going, or is it better to let this flick die?

All Uncharted games are available to buy at retail stores and to download on PlayStation Store.