It's been one of the most hotly-anticipated videogame adaptations and even had David O. Russell attached at one point, but now it seems that Uncharted is finally a reality.
In a recent interview with Collider, Levy confirmed that Uncharted is finally kicking off filming next year. "I’ve been interested in this project for years," said Levy.
"I’ve played and loved every iteration of the game. I think it’s largely a popularly accepted notion that it’s as cinematic a game as we’ve had, maybe ever, certainly of late. And it’s cinematic in that it’s not only wildly visual, but it’s really rooted in character and a very specific tone and a sense of fun, right? When is the last great, fun, f*cking action-dynamic, treasure-hunting movie?"
As well as confirming the start date as next year, Levy also went on to confirm that Joe Carnahan is involved in the script with him. "Uncharted, I am not messing around. I am so committed to this thing and I’m in it on the script level with Joe Carnahan, who knows what he’s doing; that’s been a really frickin’ fun collaboration."
Sadly, there was nothing forthcoming about who'd take on the role of Nathan Drake, with Levy saying that it basically could be anyone. "It’s every actor who is ruggedly handsome, which is to say every movie star, and who looks anything like the square-jawed, chiseled-featured Drake. I’m not actually going to base my casting on Twitter suggestions."
From all of this, it does sound incredibly positive for Uncharted. Shawn Levy's currently involved with Netflix sensation Stranger Things and previously directed the not-as-bad-as-you-remember Real Steel and, uh, The Internship - so there's form here. Not only that, Joe Carnahan knows how to write a punchy, well-oiled script so it's all good so far.
The real nut to crack is who will play Nathan Drake. Obviously, Chris Pratt is the most obvious choice - but those rumours about him playing Young Indiana Jones simply won't go away, so it's hard to see how Uncharted will happen with him involved. Moreover, does he need a franchise like this?
Absolutely not, but who knows - he might just want to get involved anyway.
Via Collider