Sony’s live-action Uncharted movie has landed a new director, reports Deadline. It has been a little more than a month since Dan Trachtenberg exited the role. That announcement came with the news that Sony would be looking to find a replacement before the end of the year. And that production would begin in early 2020. Now, it seems like they’ve made good on it. Sony is currently in negotiations to bring Travis Knight on board.
Knight’s live-action directorial debut was last year’s Bumblebee, quite possibly the best live-action Transformers movie so far. Before that, he directed 2016’s Kubo and the Two Strings for Laika Studios. But he has also worked as the lead animator for the studio’s other movies like Coraline and ParaNorman. The man clearly knows a thing or two about crafting wonderful adventure movies, which will hopefully translate to Uncharted.
Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony, the Uncharted series follows treasure hunter and explorer Nathan Drake. Each entry pits him against ruthless villains in the hopes of finding riches or uncovering a lost, ancient civilization. The film adaptation will serve as the first release for Sony’s PlayStation Productions. This venture will turn Sony’s biggest games into feature films.
The Uncharted movie has seen more than its fair share of problems. The adaptation has been in some form of production ever since 2011. Knight is the sixth director to be attached to the film. The project began to pick up steam again when Spider-Man star Tom Holland signed on to play the lead role in 2017. With that casting, it was revealed the movie would focus on a younger Drake than the games.
If all goes well, we could be getting a movie based on one of the most popular modern gaming franchises with a director who has a distinct style. Only time will tell.