Buzz surrounding a movie version of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune first sparked interest way back in 2008. However, between finding a writer, director, and someone to actually play famed protagonist Nathan Drake (Mark Wahlberg was the favorite for a while), film production has been shaky, to say the least.
Then fans received a glimpse of hope when it was announced that the Uncharted film was scheduled to release on June 30, 2017. Writer and director Joe Carnahan (The Grey) was attached to the project in July, though regrettably only in a writing capacity. He explains further:
“In a perfect world I would love to do both, but right now, I’m only on board to write the script.”
Carnahan’s attachment to the film seemed to get the project rolling in the right direction, but despite the anticipation that the Uncharted film has generated, we are met with more unfortunate news.
Nate and Sully in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
It would appear that Sony Pictures is not ready for such an early release date after all. On Thursday, the company quietly removed Uncharted’s big theater release date from comingsoon.net, as though no one would notice. Sony has also removed the date from its own upcoming release calendar.
Things do not seem entirely bleak, however. Carnahan has been vocal about how that action-packed opening scene of Uncharted has done well in script form. He has also discussed his enthusiasm and passion for the series and its strong, historical elements, stating:
“Archaeology today is in itself an antiquity, but that world has always fascinated me. Especially when you go to a museum today and wonder how a piece got there to begin with. Plus, the property itself is so popular that it was hard to turn down an opportunity to work on it.”
The opening scene for UNCHARTED…at least in script form, is really, REALLY GOOD.
— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) September 2, 2016
Considering the Uncharted games have great, cinematic gameplay already, making a movie does not seem like the greatest idea in the realm of game-to-movie adaptations, and many fans have not been overly excited about the prospect of a movie either. Because the games are so cinematic, however, that creates the argument that a movie should be simple to make and, therefore, pleasing to every fan. After all, the material is right there just waiting to be translated to the big screen.
Eddy Raja demands Nate’s cooperation.
While Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune may have been a great introduction to Nathan Drake and Co., it is debatably one of the weaker games, story-wise, in the series and could be viewed as a knock-off Indiana Jones in theaters if it is not handled well. If any of them should be made into a live-action film, it is the fourth and final game, A Thief’s End. Though there may be a slight problem with skipping three integral games…
We can only speculate where production goes from here, but as of right now, things are not looking that great.
Tori is a writer and gamer originally from Vault 111, but now she resides in Chicago. She has an MFA in creative writing-fiction, runs primarily on coffee, and is an expert on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Follow her on Twitter @torithatnerd.
