Below is a spoiler-free interview with the director of Uncharted, Ruben Fleischer. The film hits theaters in the US on February 18th.
The story of the Uncharted film has been a long one, with the adaptation of the Sony action-adventure game taking over 14 years to make its way to the big screen. After being announced for the first time all the way back in 2008, fans can finally check out the movie after its years stuck in development hell.
To get a feel of what we can expect from the long-anticipated film, IGN sat down with director Ruben Fleischer to discuss the challenges of the movie, adapting beloved properties, and what kind of Easter Eggs game fans can keep their eyes peeled for.
IGN: The film has been through multiple variations of the script, character revisions, et cetera, as it transitioned through directors. What has your focus been on, and was there anything from previous editions that you decided to keep?
Ruben Fleischer: I was only familiar with the script that I was offered to direct, so I can't speak to the previous versions of it, because honestly I've never read them or know what they were about. I know that when I read [this script], I was blown away by just what an exciting adventure it told a story of, and two great characters at the center of that adventure with a really fun and funny dynamic. As soon as I read it, I was blown away and I — needless to say — found out quickly that other people had been involved prior to me, and I feel like I was handed a gift, just because it was such a dream come true movie. I mean, I grew up loving Raiders of the Lost Ark more than any film, and so when I got sent this script and it had aspects of that treasure hunting, globe trotting adventure, I was absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to get to bring it to life on the big screen.
IGN: What elements of the games did you think were integral that needed to remain?
Ruben Fleischer: Well, the core relationship between Nate and Sully is certainly essential, as well as the banter that the two of them have. We were lucky enough to have Mark and Tom who are both so adept with comedy and did such a terrific job of creating that chemistry between this odd couple, so I would say they're the central characters. In terms of the tone and style, I mean, the Uncharted franchise is certainly known for its action set pieces, so we had the bar set very high for us as far as any action that we were intending to do and wanting it to deliver that same level of thrill for audiences. Then, I think, just the whole puzzle solving, adventure, treasure hunting component of it was always really important to convey that sense of discovery and the thrill of solving puzzles and finding hidden passageways and all the other great stuff that comes with a treasure hunting movie.
IGN: The Uncharted games were built with cinematic action in mind. Did that make for an easy translation to the cinematic action in the film?
Ruben Fleischer: Yeah. Without a doubt. I feel like Uncharted, the game was inspired by a lot of those classic treasure hunting movies. Those movies inspired me to become a director, and so it was a relatively easy process of taking it from the big screen to a video game series, and then from a video game back to the big screen, it was relatively seamless. The only true challenge for us was that our characters were not CGI, and so when they're hanging out of the back of a plane, you’ve got to figure out how to do that practically and put some movie stars' lives at risk in order to achieve some of those death-defying stunts. The games set the bar high as far as the action, but hopefully the film lived up to it.
IGN: How much did working on Venom, a property with very vocal and passionate fans, prepare you for taking on such a beloved and iconic game property as uncharted?
Ruben Fleischer: You're very astute in recognizing the parallels between the two films. Both feature a very loyal and passionate fan base for whom the source material is precious and they're very protective of, so definitely my experience on Venom — adapting that to the big screen — informed my experience of taking Uncharted from video game to feature film. You want to make a movie that services the fans but also can stand alone as a piece of entertainment for its intended format, which for us was theatrical distribution or the big screen movie experience. I'm of the belief that you can't rely exclusively on the source material when you're making one of these movies.
You have to make a great movie, or the best movie you possibly can. At the same time, you don't want to neglect or ostracize the existing fan base, so it has to be treated with respect and appreciation of what they love and incorporate those same elements into the film so that there's something for people who are hardcore fans of the games and then also something for people who've never actually heard of the games.
IGN: With the games, there's a bit of a running joke about the narrative disconnect with the storyline motivations and the fact that Nathan Drake mows down hundreds of people in the process of accomplishing his adventures. Do fodder enemies actually die or are they more kind of incapacitated?
Ruben Fleischer: I think that's for you to decide what happens to those ill-fated anonymous mercenaries that find their way off screen. I'd like to think they all have parachutes and find their way safely to the ground, but I can't assure you of that. In our movie, there's really not a ton of excessive violence nor casualties, I don't think. There's a bevy of mercs that meet their fate in various ways, but I don't think you actually see too many of them end up one way or another. You see them fall off of high things, and then we can only imagine that they all turned out happily ever after.
IGN: In the games, Chloe meets Nathan Drake when he's older. Can you explain why you decided to establish their bond so early in the films?
Ruben Fleischer: It was important to have a female character from the video game franchise, participate in this movie. There are other, perhaps, more central characters in Nate's relationship in life in the video game franchise that we did not yet meet, but we wanted to have a combination of some familiar faces and then some characters that were completely unique to the film franchise, and it's a balancing act between the two.
IGN: What a perfect lead-in to the next question! We know that Chloe has always been a love interest for Nathan, but in the games he ends up with Elena Fisher. Did you ever consider including her in the movie?
Ruben Fleischer: I can't say that I ever considered it. I don't know if previous drafts or prior to my involvement considered it, but as far as I was involved, it was only ever intended to have Chloe. That's with the hope and expectation that if we're lucky enough to make future films, that we'll get to meet even more characters from the Uncharted world.
IGN: So in that same vein, will the future of the franchise mirror the games or will we start to shift away from it?
Ruben Fleischer: I don't know if it will ever mirror the games, because my attitude towards adaptations is, if you just want a straight carbon copy of what exists in the source material, then there's no need to adapt it or make something new. Video games are so immersive and satisfying in their own right, and with Uncharted especially being so cinematic and entertaining, I think it would be a bit tedious to just recreate them as a film. I think we'll always be borrowing aspects of it but also be forging our own storylines and adventures if we're lucky enough to get to continue telling the story.
IGN: With that borrowing in mind, should fans be on the lookout for Easter eggs?
Ruben Fleischer: Yeah. The Uncharted fans will be hopefully thrilled to find Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the movie. There's one big one that I'm sure you recognized, as many fans will, but throughout the movie, whether it's quotes that Nate says that are directly taken from the source material, there's some signage, there's stickers, there's all kinds of hidden treasures throughout this movie that people can go on their own hunt for.
For more Uncharted goodies, check out our interview with Uncharted's Tati Gabrielle as she breaks down how she brought Braddock to life.
Some quotes were edited for clarity.
Amelia is a Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time
talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved.
Continue reading...
The story of the Uncharted film has been a long one, with the adaptation of the Sony action-adventure game taking over 14 years to make its way to the big screen. After being announced for the first time all the way back in 2008, fans can finally check out the movie after its years stuck in development hell.
To get a feel of what we can expect from the long-anticipated film, IGN sat down with director Ruben Fleischer to discuss the challenges of the movie, adapting beloved properties, and what kind of Easter Eggs game fans can keep their eyes peeled for.
IGN: The film has been through multiple variations of the script, character revisions, et cetera, as it transitioned through directors. What has your focus been on, and was there anything from previous editions that you decided to keep?
Ruben Fleischer: I was only familiar with the script that I was offered to direct, so I can't speak to the previous versions of it, because honestly I've never read them or know what they were about. I know that when I read [this script], I was blown away by just what an exciting adventure it told a story of, and two great characters at the center of that adventure with a really fun and funny dynamic. As soon as I read it, I was blown away and I — needless to say — found out quickly that other people had been involved prior to me, and I feel like I was handed a gift, just because it was such a dream come true movie. I mean, I grew up loving Raiders of the Lost Ark more than any film, and so when I got sent this script and it had aspects of that treasure hunting, globe trotting adventure, I was absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to get to bring it to life on the big screen.
IGN: What elements of the games did you think were integral that needed to remain?
Ruben Fleischer: Well, the core relationship between Nate and Sully is certainly essential, as well as the banter that the two of them have. We were lucky enough to have Mark and Tom who are both so adept with comedy and did such a terrific job of creating that chemistry between this odd couple, so I would say they're the central characters. In terms of the tone and style, I mean, the Uncharted franchise is certainly known for its action set pieces, so we had the bar set very high for us as far as any action that we were intending to do and wanting it to deliver that same level of thrill for audiences. Then, I think, just the whole puzzle solving, adventure, treasure hunting component of it was always really important to convey that sense of discovery and the thrill of solving puzzles and finding hidden passageways and all the other great stuff that comes with a treasure hunting movie.
IGN: The Uncharted games were built with cinematic action in mind. Did that make for an easy translation to the cinematic action in the film?
Ruben Fleischer: Yeah. Without a doubt. I feel like Uncharted, the game was inspired by a lot of those classic treasure hunting movies. Those movies inspired me to become a director, and so it was a relatively easy process of taking it from the big screen to a video game series, and then from a video game back to the big screen, it was relatively seamless. The only true challenge for us was that our characters were not CGI, and so when they're hanging out of the back of a plane, you’ve got to figure out how to do that practically and put some movie stars' lives at risk in order to achieve some of those death-defying stunts. The games set the bar high as far as the action, but hopefully the film lived up to it.
IGN: How much did working on Venom, a property with very vocal and passionate fans, prepare you for taking on such a beloved and iconic game property as uncharted?
Ruben Fleischer: You're very astute in recognizing the parallels between the two films. Both feature a very loyal and passionate fan base for whom the source material is precious and they're very protective of, so definitely my experience on Venom — adapting that to the big screen — informed my experience of taking Uncharted from video game to feature film. You want to make a movie that services the fans but also can stand alone as a piece of entertainment for its intended format, which for us was theatrical distribution or the big screen movie experience. I'm of the belief that you can't rely exclusively on the source material when you're making one of these movies.
You have to make a great movie, or the best movie you possibly can. At the same time, you don't want to neglect or ostracize the existing fan base, so it has to be treated with respect and appreciation of what they love and incorporate those same elements into the film so that there's something for people who are hardcore fans of the games and then also something for people who've never actually heard of the games.
IGN: With the games, there's a bit of a running joke about the narrative disconnect with the storyline motivations and the fact that Nathan Drake mows down hundreds of people in the process of accomplishing his adventures. Do fodder enemies actually die or are they more kind of incapacitated?
Ruben Fleischer: I think that's for you to decide what happens to those ill-fated anonymous mercenaries that find their way off screen. I'd like to think they all have parachutes and find their way safely to the ground, but I can't assure you of that. In our movie, there's really not a ton of excessive violence nor casualties, I don't think. There's a bevy of mercs that meet their fate in various ways, but I don't think you actually see too many of them end up one way or another. You see them fall off of high things, and then we can only imagine that they all turned out happily ever after.
IGN: In the games, Chloe meets Nathan Drake when he's older. Can you explain why you decided to establish their bond so early in the films?
Ruben Fleischer: It was important to have a female character from the video game franchise, participate in this movie. There are other, perhaps, more central characters in Nate's relationship in life in the video game franchise that we did not yet meet, but we wanted to have a combination of some familiar faces and then some characters that were completely unique to the film franchise, and it's a balancing act between the two.
IGN: What a perfect lead-in to the next question! We know that Chloe has always been a love interest for Nathan, but in the games he ends up with Elena Fisher. Did you ever consider including her in the movie?
Ruben Fleischer: I can't say that I ever considered it. I don't know if previous drafts or prior to my involvement considered it, but as far as I was involved, it was only ever intended to have Chloe. That's with the hope and expectation that if we're lucky enough to make future films, that we'll get to meet even more characters from the Uncharted world.
IGN: So in that same vein, will the future of the franchise mirror the games or will we start to shift away from it?
Ruben Fleischer: I don't know if it will ever mirror the games, because my attitude towards adaptations is, if you just want a straight carbon copy of what exists in the source material, then there's no need to adapt it or make something new. Video games are so immersive and satisfying in their own right, and with Uncharted especially being so cinematic and entertaining, I think it would be a bit tedious to just recreate them as a film. I think we'll always be borrowing aspects of it but also be forging our own storylines and adventures if we're lucky enough to get to continue telling the story.
IGN: With that borrowing in mind, should fans be on the lookout for Easter eggs?
Ruben Fleischer: Yeah. The Uncharted fans will be hopefully thrilled to find Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the movie. There's one big one that I'm sure you recognized, as many fans will, but throughout the movie, whether it's quotes that Nate says that are directly taken from the source material, there's some signage, there's stickers, there's all kinds of hidden treasures throughout this movie that people can go on their own hunt for.
For more Uncharted goodies, check out our interview with Uncharted's Tati Gabrielle as she breaks down how she brought Braddock to life.
Some quotes were edited for clarity.
Amelia is a Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time
talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved.
Continue reading...