The long-gestating Uncharted movie is on the back burner once again as director Seth Gordon has exited the project. The adventurous story of Nathan Drake has been in development for more than half a decade now, with a number of filmmakers attached to the project over the years. David O. Russell was attached to direct for a while with Mark Wahlberg set to star as Drake. Neil Burger (Divergent) tried his hand at the pic as well, but he too fell by the wayside. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were reportedly approached numerous times to pen an adaptation, but they subsequently declined. Nathan Fillion even campaigned for the lead role at one point.
Finally, Horrible Bosses and The King of Kong director Seth Gordon was hired to take the helm in early 2014, and it seemed this one might stick as Zero Dark Thirty scribe Mark Boal was brought in to touch up the script, a 2016 release date was set, and Sony even unveiled the logo at this year's Cinema-Con. Alas, Heroic Hollywood reports that the ill-fated video game adaptation is back in "development hell", and The Wrap confirms that Gordon has exited the project as Sony Chief Tom Rothman is pushing the project in a new "creative direction". I would imagine that more or less translates to major budget cuts for a feature that was originally envisioned in the vein of an Indiana Jones adventure extravaganza.
The game follows Nathan Drake, explorer and descendant of Sir Francis Drake, who seeks out mythical cities like Shangri-La and El Dorado in search of treasure, and must fight off the legions of bad guys in pursuit of that same treasure. It's a high-concept adventure that requires exotic locations, large-scale action set-pieces and a whole lotta shootouts, so it's hard to imagine how the film will come together on a significantly slashed budget.
What do you guys think? Did you like Gordon at the helm of the project or would you rather see Uncharted in someone else's hands? Do you think this one will ever actually make it in the can? Sound off below.
