Adaptations to the cinema or to television of video games, there have been some and not always good ones. Often taking the form of live action, rare are the times when the result has won over the public. Examples are legion, from Assassin's Creed to Mortal Kombat to Resident Evil. But maybe that will change. Release date, script, casting… the editorial staff of JV takes stock of the film Uncharted.
WHAT IS UNCHARTED?
Uncharted is a video game series born in 2007 with the opus Drake's Fortune. It is signed Naughty Dog, American studio behind The Last of Us and Crash Bandicoot. For most of these action / adventure apps, the starting point is the same. You play as Nathan Drake, a seasoned explorer set out in search of hidden wonders around the globe. From El Dorado to the lost city of Quivira, the Indiana Jones of the video game scene has shown us the country and especially beautiful panoramas. These games never cease to make us discover paradisiacal settings, while eliminating a thousand and one mercenaries in the pay of a crooked antagonist, that goes without saying. Currently, there are 7 titles in the license (except remaster, or the Collection to come), and soon a live action film.
WHAT IS THE RELEASE DATE OF THE UNCHARTED FILM?
The film Uncharted had a very chaotic production. To fully understand the magnitude of the thing, we have to go back to 2010. At the time, director David O. Russell was in charge of adapting the screenplay for the first opus into a feature film. Names are then mentioned, from Nathan Fillion to Mark Wahlberg for the lead role, but the rumors are denied, and Russell leaves the project. The site was then put back on its feet in 2014 by Seth Gordon, before collapsing again due to a lack of budget issued by Sony. Subsequently, it is not one, not two, but three directors who will give up the idea of shooting the film.
In the end, Ruben Fleischer will be the lucky winner, after a waltz of changes that lasted no less than 10 years. Knowing that the script has also undergone a number of modifications, even if it remained less accentuated. Once the team has been appointed once and for all, the final casting was announced, which we will come back to below. It only remained to unveil the release date and, after many postponements, it was revealed. The film is due on February 11, 2022 in the United States and 5 days later in France.
HOW TO SEE THE UNCHARTED FILM IN FRANCE?
In France, the film Uncharted will arrive in theaters on February 16, 2022. You are probably aware that the license belongs to Sony. But you may not be aware of the deal signed in April 2021 between the multimedia giant, Netflix and The Walt Disney Company. Without going into details, it allows all Sony Pictures films, released between 2022 and 2026, to integrate as a priority the catalog of the on-demand service platform after their appearances on the big screen. Without knowing exactly how long it will take, we can be sure to find Nathan Drake's twists and turns on Netflix in 2022.
HOW DOES THE UNCHARTED FILM FIT INTO SAGA?
The film was initially presented as a prequel to the history of games, that is to say taking place before. However, with the first official trailer, we had been able to see many memorable scenes from the games, like those of the cargo plane of 3 or the pirate ship in 4. Are we dealing with a mixture of all these scenes on the background? unpublished history? This is what it would seem and it would at the same time serve as a tribute to great passages of the franchise. This would delight fans without playing the card of ease by serving as a simple adaptation of one of the adventures of the treasure hunter.
WHAT IS THE SCREENPLAY OF THE UNCHARTED FILM?
This film adaptation stages the first adventures of our protagonists. Without knowing exactly how long between the film and the first game, if it turns out to be a prequel, we can still estimate a rather large gap. Either way, the story sees Nathan Drake and his friend Victor Sullivan set out in search of the greatest treasure of all time. It is the promise of an impossible to miss jackpot for the adventurer in the making.
At the same time, he'll follow clues presumably left behind by his missing brother Samuel Drake, with the hope of finding him. Already, we can feel the influence of the scenarios of the games in the series. It remains to be seen whether the writers intend to stand out or not from the main lines of the history of some of these titles, in particular A Thief's End from which it seems to be inspired.
WHAT IS CASTING? FOR WHICH CHARACTERS?
Rumors about potential actors for our heroes have been rife. Ultimately, actor Tom Holland was chosen to play this younger version of Nate. The comedian is not his first attempt in terms of big roles to take, since he embodies the naive and courageous Spider-Man of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). At his side, we find Mark Wahlberg in the skin of Victor Sullivan, friend of the hero and peerless pilot, while Antonio Banderas plays the antagonist. Little information has been revealed to date as to the restof the cast, except Sophia Taylor Ali for Chloe Frazer. Will there be the presence of Elena, Sam or other famous villains? Nothing is less sure.
WHO DIRECTS AND SCREWS THE UNCHARTED FILM
Above, we were talking about the round of directors who left the project along the way. The last "survivor", the one who ended up winning the jackpot, is Ruben Fleischer (Welcome to Zombieland, Venom). On the writing side, we find a well-known duo from Marvel Studios, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man, Punisher: War Zone).
One is entitled to wonder if the creator of the franchise, Neil Druckmann, will not intervene in some way. After all, he will help write the script for some episodes of The Last of Us series, another of his licenses. Well, despite the fact that he was seen on the set, everything seems to suggest that he is not supervising anything. He seems at best to have stopped by to see the state of the shooting to get an idea of the final result.
WHO IS WORKING ON THE UNCHARTED FILM?
Uncharted is above all action, adventure, explosions, sumptuous settings, well in short, spectacular. Therefore, artistic direction worthy of the name is expected, just like photography and sets. These responsibilities were respectively placed in the hands of David Ingram (Nightflyers), Chung-hoon Chung (Miss, Return to Zombieland), Elli Griff (The others, Edge of Tomorrow) and finally, Kata Bartyik (Dune, The King).
