Few Hollywood blockbusters have spent as much time in production hell as Uncharted. Plans to bring the popular video game series to the cinema were already in place in 2008. But the project fell apart again and again and was passed from one filmmaker to the next until the current version was created. You can only until Saturday, August 17, 2024 on Netflix stream, can be read at Flixable.
The current Uncharted comes from Venom director Ruben Fleischer and features Spider-Man star Tom Holland in the role of the young Nathan Drake. If the film had been released in the early 2010s, it would have looked completely different. We’ll take a quick look at the crazy origin story from Uncharted.
Mark Wahlberg was originally supposed to play Nathan Drake
Already in October 2010 (!) The Uncharted film first took concrete shape with the involvement of David O. Russell. Russell, who had just finished the sports drama The Fighter, was to write the script and directFrom the set of The Fighter, he brought Mark Wahlberg with him, whom he had chosen to play the lead role of Nathan Drake.
Sony
Uncharted with Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland
Even more exciting was a rumor that was doing the rounds at the time: Apparently Russell was planning the film with two absolute acting legends: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. The two previously appeared on screen in the Scorsese films Raging Bull, GoodFellas and Casino. In November 2010, Wahlberg confirmed the rumor.
The Uncharted movie with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci that we will never see
In an interview with MTV (via Den of Geek ), Wahlberg spoke of a possible start of filming in summer 2011 and revealed that Russell Roles for De Niro and Pesci in his script.
I have talked to Pesci about it and I know that David’s people are [Robert De Niro] are being discussed. I’m definitely in, no matter what David comes up with. His idea is incredible: De Niro will play my father and Pesci will play my uncle. It will definitely not be a watered down version.
Even though we will never see Russell’s film, this snippet provides an exciting insight into his Uncharted vision. Nathan Drake’s family played an important role. This makes perfect sense when you look at Russell’s filmography. It is often disturbing family dynamics that form the driving force behind his films.
Ultimately, this version of Uncharted never came to fruition. The project passed from director to director: Neil Burger (Limitless), Seth Gordon (Kill the Boss), Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces), Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) and Travis Knight (Bumblebee) were involved in the film’s creation over the last ten years before Fleischer actually brought the film to theaters.
The result is a huge blockbuster with a high level of entertainment value. Even if the storyline doesn’t offer much, it’s still enough for an entertaining movie night. You still have two days to watch it on Netflix.