Sony has finally released the first trailer for its upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Uncharted, the popular and acclaimed video game adventure series. The movie has been in development for years now, with the earliest reports about a movie adaptation stemming from 2008. This current iteration of the project has been in the works since 2017, and finally, finally, we're getting our first trailer to Uncharted.
Uncharted stars Tom Holland as a young Nathan Drake, with Mark Wahlberg playing his (now mustache-less) mentor, Victor "Sully" Sullivan. Venom's Ruben Fleischer directs the film from a script by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (who also wrote Iron Man and... Transformers: The Last Knight), which is set to act as a prequel to the action-adventure games from Naughty Dog Studios and creator Amy Hennig.
The film also stars Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Braddock, Sophia Ali (Grey's Anatomy) as Chloe Frazer, and Antonio Banderas in an unidentified role. This is but the first of possibly many Sony games being turned into live-action projects. There's The Last of Us being turned into an HBO series, while Netflix has both a live-action and an anime series based on the Assassin's Creed franchise in the works, as well as both anime and live-action TV shows based on Resident Evil coming to streaming in the near future.
I'm really torn on this trailer. Sony went with Tom Holland in part because of his youthful appeal even though in the games Drake is in his mid-30s to early-40s. And from a financial perspective that makes sense. If you think this is a long-term franchise, then you cast the hot young star who has already proven himself with the Spider-Man movies. But as a fan of the games, this feels off to me. Holland just feels too young for the role so while everything around him kind of feels like Uncharted, it feels like he's cosplaying as Drake. But keep in mind that someone who hasn't played the game (which is the majority of the audience that Sony expects for this movie) doesn't have my associations with Drake, so they'll probably be fine with Holland. I hope to be proven wrong.
Uncharted has been delayed many times, but for now it is slated to be released in theaters on February 18, 2022. Check out the fresh first teaser below:
Here's the official synopsis:
Based on one of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed video game series of all time, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
