Now this is an interesting twist… Mark Wahlberg looks set to join the big-screen adaptation of videogame Uncharted, playing the mentor to Tom Holland’s adventuring hero – a role that he was originally supposed to play himself.
Variety has reported that Wahlberg is in final talks to join the movie, which is based on the hit game series. He’s set to play Victor “Sully” Sullivan, a treasure hunter and businessman who acts as a father figure of sorts to smart-talking daredevil Nathan Drake (Holland), helping him out as he journeys across the globe to unravel historical mysteries and seek out rare valuables.
The movie adaptation of Uncharted has been in the works for years and Wahlberg was originally attached as Drake in an earlier iteration of the project, which was to be directed by his Three Kings/The Fighter collaborator David O Russell. With the focus being shifted more towards an origin story, Spider-Man star Holland was brought on board instead – but Wahlberg reportedly wanted to return to the movie in some capacity.
Uncharted will now be overseen by Travis Knight, who’s perhaps best known as the man behind the surprisingly good Transformers spin-off, Bumblebee, which was the first live-action film he directed. Before that, Knight primarily worked as an animator on such films as Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, before receiving widespread acclaim for his work as director of the Oscar-nominated animated adventure, Kubo And The Two Strings.
With a new director attached and the cast rounding out, the film finally looks like it will be emerging from its extended stint in development hell, with production set to start sometime early next year. There’s still no official word regarding how the film’s script (written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Rafe Judkins) will tie-in to the story presented in the game series.
It’s easy to see why Sony remains committed to the project. Not only does it publish the Uncharted games, but the franchise is famous for its cinematic, Indiana Jones-style moments, characters, settings and storylines. If done right, an Uncharted adaptation could be a shining light in the otherwise relatively rough history of videogame adaptations.
