Earlier this month, we reported the rumor that Mark Wahlberg was to play the lead in David O. Russell's adaptation of the video game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.  We also reported that Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were in talks to co-star.  Speaking to MTV, Wahlberg has now clarified those rumors.  He confirms that he will play the lead role of adventurer Nathan Drake (sorry, Nathan Fillion).  It will be his fourth film with O. Russell.  Said Wahlberg,

"David is one of the best writer/directors I've ever worked with.  The idea that he has is just insane. So hopefully we'll be making that movie this summer."

Hit the jump for how De Niro and Pesci fit into the picture and my thoughts on Wahlberg as Drake.

Neither De Niro nor Pesci are officially on board, but Wahlberg tells MTV that he's spoken to Pesci and that O. Russell's people have talked with De Niro.  As to who the two Hollywood icons would play:

"I'm obviously in whatever David wants to do but the idea of it is so off the charts: De Niro being my father, Pesci being my uncle. It's not going to be the watered-down version, that's for sure."

I'm not sure what the watered-down version is.  I can't imagine this movie getting an R-rating despite the violence of the video game and that Drake basically murders about 500 people over the course of the story.  As for De Niro and Pesci, Drake's father and uncle have never appeared in the games, so it will be interesting to see how far O. Russell's script branches into new territory.  The first game centers on Drake's quest for El Dorado while the second game has him searching for Shangri-La.

But I'm not a huge fan of casting Wahlberg.  Wahlberg plays a good tough guy, but Drake (at least the endearing Drake from the game) is more scrappy and resourceful.  He's the guy who goes "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" when a grenade lands near him.  It's a looser character and while Wahlberg may be able to play it, he's always seemed too uptight and stoic, even in a comedy like The Other Guys.  Hopefully he'll be able to pull it off, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that Fillion didn't get the role.