In the same way that Nathan Drake always finds something getting in his way during his adventures, Sony’s long-struggling attempt to produce a film adaptation of theUnchartedseries has hit yet another bump in the road. Just three months afterdirector Travis Knight was hired to helmUncharted, it’s been revealed that he will be parting ways with the project.
A report from Deadline states that a complication has arisen due to scheduling conflicts forAvengers: EndgameactorTom Holland, who, in addition to starring as Nathan Drake, is slated to star in the sequel toSpider-Man: Far From Homecoming in 2021. As a result of Holland’sSpider-Manschedule, sources say that Sony is being forced to readjust the production timeline forUncharted, a move that has resulted in Knight (Bumblebee,Kubo and the Two Strings) departing from the project.
Readjusting the production timeline also means that, according to Deadline, it looks like the movie will be delayed from its current release date of Jun 28, 2025. How much it will be delayed wasn’t specified, but Deadline did state that Holland remains attached to the project and thatUnchartedis still based on the current screenplay by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Rafe Judkins.
RELATED:Uncharted Movie Loses Its Director
This latest development will inevitably feel familiar to fans who have been followingthe live-actionUncharted’s development. Now that Knight is leaving, that makes six directors who’ve ditched the movie before production could actually begin. This started all the way back in 2011, when David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) first abandoned ship. After him came Neil Burger (Divergent) in 2012, Seth Gordon (King of Kong) in 2015, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) in 2018, and Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) earlier this year.
It’s never been really clear why Sony has struggled for so many years (and with so many directors) to get anUnchartedmovie off the ground. Sure, an intense action-adventure series wouldn’t be the easiest thing to recreate faithfully on film, but Hollywood has been making high-budget adventure movies for years, including theIndiana Jonesseries whichUnchartedhas taken much inspiration from. Whatever the reasons, they’ll likely keepUnchartedfrom joiningthe rest of the video game movies coming out in 2020.
Produced by Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and Avi and Ari Arad,Unchartedwill mark the first real partnership between Sony Pictures and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s film division, PlayStation Productions. The film will take place before the games to allow Holland to act as a younger Nathan Drake. Joining him will be actor Mark Wahlberg, who has been cast as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Drake’s older mentor and partner. This especially serves to illustrate just how long this film has been in development, sinceWahlberg was originally picked to play Nathan Drakeway back when David O. Russell was attached to the project.
Unchartedis still currently scheduled for a theatrical release on August 01, 2025.
