Sony Pictures’ Uncharted movie may be set for release on February 18, 2022 in the US (and February 11 in the UK), but it took 14 years to get there. The action-adventure film based on the hit PlayStation-exclusive video game series featuring roguish treasure-hunter Nathan Drake first went into development way back in 2008, but a series of hitches in the creative process caused it to languish in development hell for many years. Here’s a rundown of every hurdle and obstacle the Uncharted movie went through to finally make it to the big screen.
The first Uncharted game in the series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, was released in 2007, leading Sony and Spider-Man film producer Avi Arad to begin developing the Uncharted movie in 2008. The movie was going to be scripted by writing duo Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Conan the Barbarian, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night) with Arad producing along with Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. This was the first of many, many creative teams who would try to get the Uncharted movie off the ground.
In 2010, the Uncharted movie seemed to have taken a positive step forward, with producers Arad, Roven and Gartner starting over by teaming with David O. Russell (The Fighter, American Hustle), who would write and direct the project.
By this point, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had been released a year earlier in 2009 to much acclaim, further building anticipation for the film adaptation. A great deal of buzz built up around who would play the lead character, with many fans championing actor Nathan Fillion to star as Nathan Drake. Though he never nabbed the role, Fillion would eventually give fans a glimpse at what could have been in 2018 with an Uncharted short film.
Actor Mark Wahlberg wound up being cast in the role of Nathan Drake, and there was talk of Robert De Niro playing Drake’s father and Joe Pesci his uncle. After years of delays Wahlberg would eventually depart the project, only to return to play a different character in the version that finally got made.
In 2011, Russell left the Uncharted movie to make what would become an acclaimed Oscar-nominated film, Silver Linings Playbook. As for why Russell’s version of the film didn’t pan out, it came down to an all-too-familiar reason–creative differences. Russell explained to THR that his take didn’t match what the studio wanted for the film, saying, "I waded into those waters of the tentpole movies, and I wrote what I wanted to write, and I feel like I wrote my vision. And the rest is up to those guys. I can't pick for those guys. I don't know what they want to do over there. It's just a parting of the ways creatively."
Moving on without Russell, the producing trio of Arad, Roven and Gartner brought on Neil Burger (The Illusionist) as his replacement to write and direct, with Burger rewriting the script from scratch. The year 2011 is also when the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception video game was released, elevating the game franchise to a new high point. Yet the film continued to hit one bump in the road after another.
In 2012, Burger decided to leave the Uncharted movie to make Divergent. In his place the husband/wife duo of Marianne and Cormac Wibberley (National Treasure, Bad Boys II) were brought on to re-write the film, although this would prove to be yet another false start.
In 2014, several names came on and off the project in quick succession. Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Identity Thief) was named the new Uncharted movie director, while David Guggenheim (Stolen, Safe House) would pen the script.
The studio seemed confident in this take on the film, as they planned to go into production in 2015 and scheduled a June 10, 2016 release date. But by the end of the year Guggenheim was replaced as writer by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty). And with actor Mark Wahlberg no longer playing Nathan Drake, the part was reportedly offered to Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), who chose to pass.
In 2015, the infamous Sony hack saw Guggenheim’s script leaked online, and not long after Sony Pictures’ new Chairman Tom Rothman decided to change gears on the film and go for a mature version more in line with the games. This caused Gordon to depart as director and he went on to make Baywatch instead. Unable to hit its planned 2016 release date, the studio pushed Uncharted back one year to June 30, 2017.
The year 2016 marked a changing of the tide for the Uncharted movie, and it’s this version of the film that would go on to actually be made, though not without several more hiccups along the way right up to release. In 2016, writer Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) was brought on to pen the Uncharted script as was Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Real Steel) to direct the film. This year is also when Naughty Dog released the next installment of the video game series, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
In 2017, things continued to go well for the Uncharted movie as Carnahan finished the script and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland was cast in the lead role as Nathan Drake. The film would essentially be a prequel to the games with Holland playing a younger Drake at the start of his treasure-hunting career. Writer Rafe Judkins (The Wheel of Time, Agents of SHIELD) was hired to rewrite the script.
In 2018, Levy dropped out as director to work on Free Guy, leaving the Uncharted movie still moving forward but without anyone at the wheel.
In 2019, Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) took a turn in the hot seat and was brought on as director of the Uncharted movie, only to exit the project later that year. He was replaced by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee), who not long after left the project due to scheduling conflicts. These issues forced Sony to push back the film’s release date (which was then December 18, 2020) yet again.
In an amusing twist of fate, Wahlberg returned to the film, now playing Drake’s mustachioed father figure Victor Sullivan. That Wahlberg was originally cast as Nathan Drake but is now playing his older mentor is perhaps the biggest sign of how long it’s taken the Uncharted movie to get made.
At long last, in 2020 the Uncharted movie finally went into production. Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) was brought on to replace Knight–and he actually stayed on the project to completion. Sony scheduled a new March 5, 2021 release date. It was revealed the story would take inspiration from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The cast was fleshed out with actor Antonio Banderas playing villain Santiago Moncada, Tati Gabrielle as his mercenary henchwoman, and Sophia Ali as Drake’s love interest and fellow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer. Writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway were hired to rework the script. Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man, Game of Thrones) was brought on as composer.
But it wouldn’t be the Uncharted movie unless something unlucky happened at the most inopportune moment: the coronavirus pandemic brought production to a screeching halt and the entire entertainment industry was put on standby. Eventually, production started again with safety measures in place, although Banderas had to leave the production for three weeks after contracting the virus.
In 2021, the Uncharted movie released its first, long-awaited trailer, but the film was pushed back to a new release date, February 28, 2022.
Many names have come and gone on the project, and now the final credits list Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Ari Arad as producers with the screenplay written by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway based on a story by Judkins, Jon Hanley Rosenberg, and Mark D. Walker. As of this writing, Uncharted is on track to hit its release date… but we still have our fingers crossed, just in case.
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2008 - The Uncharted Movie Goes Into Development
The first Uncharted game in the series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, was released in 2007, leading Sony and Spider-Man film producer Avi Arad to begin developing the Uncharted movie in 2008. The movie was going to be scripted by writing duo Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Conan the Barbarian, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night) with Arad producing along with Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. This was the first of many, many creative teams who would try to get the Uncharted movie off the ground.
2010 - A New Uncharted Writer and Director Is Found
In 2010, the Uncharted movie seemed to have taken a positive step forward, with producers Arad, Roven and Gartner starting over by teaming with David O. Russell (The Fighter, American Hustle), who would write and direct the project.
By this point, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had been released a year earlier in 2009 to much acclaim, further building anticipation for the film adaptation. A great deal of buzz built up around who would play the lead character, with many fans championing actor Nathan Fillion to star as Nathan Drake. Though he never nabbed the role, Fillion would eventually give fans a glimpse at what could have been in 2018 with an Uncharted short film.
Actor Mark Wahlberg wound up being cast in the role of Nathan Drake, and there was talk of Robert De Niro playing Drake’s father and Joe Pesci his uncle. After years of delays Wahlberg would eventually depart the project, only to return to play a different character in the version that finally got made.
2011 - Uncharted Gets (Another) New Director
In 2011, Russell left the Uncharted movie to make what would become an acclaimed Oscar-nominated film, Silver Linings Playbook. As for why Russell’s version of the film didn’t pan out, it came down to an all-too-familiar reason–creative differences. Russell explained to THR that his take didn’t match what the studio wanted for the film, saying, "I waded into those waters of the tentpole movies, and I wrote what I wanted to write, and I feel like I wrote my vision. And the rest is up to those guys. I can't pick for those guys. I don't know what they want to do over there. It's just a parting of the ways creatively."
Moving on without Russell, the producing trio of Arad, Roven and Gartner brought on Neil Burger (The Illusionist) as his replacement to write and direct, with Burger rewriting the script from scratch. The year 2011 is also when the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception video game was released, elevating the game franchise to a new high point. Yet the film continued to hit one bump in the road after another.
2012 - The Changing of the Guard
In 2012, Burger decided to leave the Uncharted movie to make Divergent. In his place the husband/wife duo of Marianne and Cormac Wibberley (National Treasure, Bad Boys II) were brought on to re-write the film, although this would prove to be yet another false start.
2014 - More Unexpected Delays
In 2014, several names came on and off the project in quick succession. Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Identity Thief) was named the new Uncharted movie director, while David Guggenheim (Stolen, Safe House) would pen the script.
The studio seemed confident in this take on the film, as they planned to go into production in 2015 and scheduled a June 10, 2016 release date. But by the end of the year Guggenheim was replaced as writer by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty). And with actor Mark Wahlberg no longer playing Nathan Drake, the part was reportedly offered to Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), who chose to pass.
2015 - Development Hits More Snags
In 2015, the infamous Sony hack saw Guggenheim’s script leaked online, and not long after Sony Pictures’ new Chairman Tom Rothman decided to change gears on the film and go for a mature version more in line with the games. This caused Gordon to depart as director and he went on to make Baywatch instead. Unable to hit its planned 2016 release date, the studio pushed Uncharted back one year to June 30, 2017.
2016 - A Glimmer of Hope
The year 2016 marked a changing of the tide for the Uncharted movie, and it’s this version of the film that would go on to actually be made, though not without several more hiccups along the way right up to release. In 2016, writer Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) was brought on to pen the Uncharted script as was Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Real Steel) to direct the film. This year is also when Naughty Dog released the next installment of the video game series, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
2017 - Uncharted Solidifies
In 2017, things continued to go well for the Uncharted movie as Carnahan finished the script and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland was cast in the lead role as Nathan Drake. The film would essentially be a prequel to the games with Holland playing a younger Drake at the start of his treasure-hunting career. Writer Rafe Judkins (The Wheel of Time, Agents of SHIELD) was hired to rewrite the script.
2018 - The Movie Stumbles Again
In 2018, Levy dropped out as director to work on Free Guy, leaving the Uncharted movie still moving forward but without anyone at the wheel.
2019 - A New Hope for the Uncharted Movie
In 2019, Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) took a turn in the hot seat and was brought on as director of the Uncharted movie, only to exit the project later that year. He was replaced by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee), who not long after left the project due to scheduling conflicts. These issues forced Sony to push back the film’s release date (which was then December 18, 2020) yet again.
In an amusing twist of fate, Wahlberg returned to the film, now playing Drake’s mustachioed father figure Victor Sullivan. That Wahlberg was originally cast as Nathan Drake but is now playing his older mentor is perhaps the biggest sign of how long it’s taken the Uncharted movie to get made.
2020 - Uncharted Actually Gets Made
At long last, in 2020 the Uncharted movie finally went into production. Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) was brought on to replace Knight–and he actually stayed on the project to completion. Sony scheduled a new March 5, 2021 release date. It was revealed the story would take inspiration from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The cast was fleshed out with actor Antonio Banderas playing villain Santiago Moncada, Tati Gabrielle as his mercenary henchwoman, and Sophia Ali as Drake’s love interest and fellow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer. Writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway were hired to rework the script. Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man, Game of Thrones) was brought on as composer.
But it wouldn’t be the Uncharted movie unless something unlucky happened at the most inopportune moment: the coronavirus pandemic brought production to a screeching halt and the entire entertainment industry was put on standby. Eventually, production started again with safety measures in place, although Banderas had to leave the production for three weeks after contracting the virus.
2021 - One Last Delay
In 2021, the Uncharted movie released its first, long-awaited trailer, but the film was pushed back to a new release date, February 28, 2022.
2022 - The Uncharted Movie Is Almost Here
Many names have come and gone on the project, and now the final credits list Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Ari Arad as producers with the screenplay written by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway based on a story by Judkins, Jon Hanley Rosenberg, and Mark D. Walker. As of this writing, Uncharted is on track to hit its release date… but we still have our fingers crossed, just in case.
Continue reading...