Uncharted is a 2022 American action-adventure film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, based on the video game franchise of the same name developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, with Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, and Antonio Banderas in supporting roles.
Avi Arad stating that he would be working with Sony Pictures to develop a film adaptation of Uncharted, but the film entered a complicated production process, with various directors, writers, and cast members attached at various points. Several filmmakers, including David O. Russell, Dan Trachtenberg, Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, Shawn Levy, and Travis Knight were initially signed to direct the project, while Nathan Fillion, Chris Pratt, and Gurt were rumored to play Drake. Holland was cast in May 2017 and principal photography commenced in March 2020, finishing the following October.
Uncharted was theatrically released by Columbia Pictures Releasing in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2022, and then in the United States on February 18.
Plot[]
Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and his partner Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) go in dangerous pursuit of "the greatest treasure never found" while also tracking clues that may lead to mope long-lost brother.
Cast[]
- Tom Holland as Nathan Drake
- Mark Wahlberg as Victor "Sully" Sullivan
- Sophia Taylor Ali as Chloe Frazer
- Tati Gabrielle as Braddock
- Antonio Banderas as Moncada
- Rudy Pankow as Samuel "Sam" Drake: Nathan's long-lost brother
Manuel de Blas appears as Armando Moncada, Santiago's father, Steven Waddington as the Scotsman, Alana Boden as Zoe, and Pingi Moli as Hugo. Nolan North, who portrayed Nathan Drake in the games, has a cameo as a hotel guest. Additionally, Pilou Asbæk and YouTube personality ElrubiusOMG appear in the film in undisclosed roles.
Production[]
Development[]
In 2008, film producer Avi Arad stated that he was working with a division of Sony to develop the film adaptation of Uncharted. In response to a question posed to Richard Lemarchand, lead game designer of Naughty Dog, on whether he would like to see a film adaptation of Uncharted, he replied "no comment". Since then, Columbia Pictures had confirmed that an Uncharted film was being developed. The film was at first to be written by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer and produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, and Alex Gartner. As of June 30, 2009, it was confirmed that the Uncharted film had been in development for the last year-and-a-half. Nathan Fillion expressed an interest in playing Nathan Drake, and started a campaign on Twitter to encourage fans to support him in the endeavor. In an August 2010 interview, Naughty Dog told PlayStation University how close they really were with the development of the movie and that they had trust with all who were working on it.
On October 8, 2009, it was announced by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, co-presidents of Columbia Pictures, that David O. Russell had set to write and direct the film, an action adventure based upon the first game in the series. The film would be produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, and Alex Gartner. Following a screening of Russell's film, The Fighter, he was approached by a fan of the Uncharted series who asked whether he had considered Fillion for the role of Nathan Drake for the upcoming film due to the high number of requests for him to fulfill the role. Russell was unaware of the interest in Fillion and who he was and seemed to quickly dismiss the idea. Fillion would then later go on to do a short Uncharted fan-film 8 years later, featuring him as Nathan Drake to positive reception.
On November 24, 2010, an interview with Mark Wahlberg was published by MTV with the actor discussing his involvement in the film adaptation of the popular franchise. He stated that Russell was currently writing the script and was excited for what he had in store, hoping to shoot in the middle of 2011: "I'm obviously in whatever David wants to do but the idea of it is so off the charts: Robert De Niro being my father, Joe Pesci being my uncle. It's not going to be the watered-down version, that's for sure." On May 26, 2011, it was reported that Russell had departed the film to direct Silver Linings Playbook. On July 6, Variety reported that Neil Burger was stepping in for Russell. Burger landed the offer after the studio and producers Ari Arad, Ari Roven, and Ari Gartner sparked to his new take on the film. Neil Burger spoke out about the film in July, saying the following:
On August 23, 2012, Burger dropped out to work on Divergent and the studio hired the husband and wife team of Marianne and Cormac Wibberley to rewrite the film. In an interview with IGN, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg said they were asked to write the film multiple times, but declined all of them. On February 4, 2014, Deadline reported that Seth Gordon would direct the film with the latest script being written by David Guggenheim. Production was set to begin in early 2015. The film was originally scheduled for release on June 10, 2016. On November 12, 2014, the studio hired Mark Boal to write the film. After Wahlberg, Chris Pratt was approached to portray Nathan Drake, but he declined the offer. On June 24, 2015, Seth Gordon left the project to work on Baywatch.
In April 2015, the script written by David Guggenheim was leaked, having been obtained in the Sony Pictures hack. On August 5, 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment pushed the film's release date back to June 30, 2017. In an interview with Game News Official, Nathan Drake's voice actor Nolan North stated that he believed that fans did not want an Uncharted movie. Charles Roven did reveal to Collider that what they were working on was pretty exciting, there was a director that they did not have at the moment, and they were not ready to cast that vote until they were actually ready to cast. In April 2016, Neil Druckmann, who had worked on previous Uncharted games, said that the most important aspect of the film is the character relationships.
On July 29, 2016, Variety reported that Joe Carnahan was writing the draft of the film's script. On September 1, 2016, the film was removed from Sony's release calendar due to not having a director or cast, but Sony was still moving forward with the film. On October 25, 2016, Shawn Levy was announced to be directing the film. Carnahan said to Collider that he and Levy are knowledgeable about the game, and had been hard at work getting the characters right. The filming was set to begin in early 2017. In early January 2017, Carnahan posted a photo on his Instagram to show that the script of the film had been completed. In May 2017, Tom Holland was cast as a young Nathan Drake, with the movie serving as a prequel to the games. Television writer Rafe Judkins was brought on to rework the script. On December 19, 2018, it was announced that Levy had departed the film to work on Free Guy.
On January 14, 2019, Variety reported that Dan Trachtenberg had signed on to direct the film. In June 2019, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the movie was set to be released on December 18, 2020. On August 22, 2019, Deadline reported that Dan Trachtenberg had exited the film, with the film scheduled to go into production in early 2020. The film would become the first feature production of Sony's PlayStation Productions. On September 27, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter informed that Travis Knight would direct the film. In November, Wahlberg returned to the project to star alongside Holland in the role of Victor Sullivan. In December 2019, Knight left the project due to scheduling conflicts with Holland, which resulted in the film losing its December 18, 2020 release date.
Pre-production[]
In January 2020, Ruben Fleischer entered talks to replace Knight as director, with the film's release date pushed back to March 5, 2021. Chung-hoon Chung was hired as the cinematographer, while Chris Lebenzon and Richard Pearson served as editors. In February 2020, Fleischer was confirmed as director, with the film's plot serving as an origin story to the games. The film took inspiration from the fourth game in the series, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. In March, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, and Tati Gabrielle were added to the cast, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway contributing to the script. The film's music was composed by Ramin Djawadi.
Filming[]
Principal photography began on March 16, 2020, in Babelsberg Studios, near Berlin, Germany. Filming was shut down later that day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was believed filming had resumed on July 15, 2020, however, Sony Pictures clarified, while production had not yet resumed, they were undergoing preparations with the hope to start production soon. Production officially resumed on July 20, 2020, shooting in Babelsberg Studios, with proper social distancing and mask requirements being implemented on and off the set. On August 5, 2020, Banderas temporarily left production after he tested positive for COVID-19. On August 26, 2020, Banderas recovered from COVID-19, returning to production soon after. On September 16, 2020, filming moved to Berlin, with set photos being released online. In the beginning of October 2020, the production shot scenes in Alicante and Valencia, Spain, including the coastal town of Xàbia. On October 23, 2020, Holland finished shooting his scenes, before production concluded on October 29 in Barcelona. In July 2021, the film was undergoing reshoots in Madrid.
Marketing[]
In May 2020, Sony entered into a promotional partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to showcase their new models and technologies in the film. In May 2021, an unannounced teaser was included in one of Sony's promotional videos on YouTube. It depicts Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg in their respective roles as Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan, attending an event wearing suit and tie. In October 2021, the first trailer for the film debuted online, which also confirmed that Judkins would be sharing screenplay credit alongside Marcum and Holloway.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
Uncharted was theatrically released by Sony Pictures Releasing in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2022, and later in the United States on February 18, in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and 4DX. The film was originally set for release on June 10, 2016, but was delayed to June 30, 2017. The film was later delayed to December 18, 2020, and then to March 5, 2021, after Travis Knight's departure. It was further delayed to October 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was then moved up to July 16, 2021, before moving to February 11, 2022, and then again to the following week. It was later announced that the film would release first in the United Kingdom on February 11.
Streaming[]
In April 2021, Sony signed deals with Netflix and The Walt Disney Company for the streaming rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, including Uncharted, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. It might take a while.