As much as I’ve run down the crazy history of Sony‘s long brewing video game adaptation “Uncharted” multiple times, for those of you just playing catch up, here’s what you need to know. The studio has been trying to make a feature film out of the hit platformer for years now. At one time, some pretty big names kicked the tires, including David O. Russell who ambitiously wanted to bring in names like Mark Wahlberg, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Scarlett Johansson. Of course, that never happened, and directors like Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, and Joe Carnahan have all dropped in and out, while Chris Pratt reportedly passed on the lead role a few years back. And even though Shawn Levy signed up to direct last fall, no one was holding their breath that anything would happen anytime soon. Well, the wheels are in motion, at the very least.
Deadline reports that Sony is going all in with their “Spider-Man: Homecoming” star as Tom Holland has signed up to play Nathan Drake in “Uncharted.” Given the actor’s age, the story will follow the more youthful adventures of the treasure hunter. And while everyone is having franchise dreams about this, don’t hold your breath, as yet another screenwriter is being hired to pen the script, which means this might be still a long way off (and you have to wonder how much money Sony has already burned in development on this thing).
Of course, that’s not to mention that Sony will be watching the reception of ‘Homecoming’ very closely. If it doesn’t do the numbers they want, you can bet Holland won’t be staying attached for too long to “Uncharted.” Studios are fickle, but Sony is hoping the heat around Holland will sustain for some time yet.