It was reported by director Shawn Levy himself back in the summer that, finally, a big-screen adaptation of the popular and acclaimed Uncharted video game series was close to the starting line and would be his next project. Fans rejoiced since the adaptation had been in development for nearly a decade, and was seemingly never able to get any traction.
Unfortunately, that good news no longer seems to be the case. Levy has stepped away from the project and Sony will be searching for a new director, and the movie will head back to development hell, though hopefully not for another decade. The film is still set to star Spider-Man actor, Tom Holland, as a younger version of protagonist Nathan Drake.
Levy has previously said that he wanted to make the film “an Indiana Jones story for a generation that didn’t grow up on Indiana Jones“, but his exit means he follows in the footsteps of other filmmakers such as David O. Russell, Neil Burger, and Seth Gordon, all of whom were previously lined up to direct the project.
It’s not exactly clear why Levy stepped away from the project, but it might simply be because he’s more interested in directing what is now his next project, Free Guy. It’s also a video game-centric movie, and will star Ryan Reynolds as a background character who realises he’s living in a game. With the help of an avatar, he tries to prevent the makers of the game from shutting down his world.
So obviously Levy has an interest in a video game-related film of sorts, but it is not Uncharted. Hollywood has an infamously poor track record with game-to-film adaptations, and the troubled production of Uncharted probably isn’t helping things. We’ll wait and see which director will step up to helm the film next. Hopefully the next one will stick around to actually make it a reality.
#Peace.Love.Uncharted
