10 Directors, 2 Stars, and a Dream: Uncharted
- Joseph
- Dec 27, 2023
- 6 min read
Welcome to the first of a new style of blog post! This is discussing the cinematic history of projects that were notoriously plagued with issues or had a long-running history. I plan to cover long-running brands, difficult productions, and other subjects within this branch! We plan to start with Uncharted, a notoriously long-running production. To explain the full thing is a wonder indeed, let us explore it!
2008-2010: Production Begins
The film began production under Avi Arad shortly after the release of the first game and while the second game was under way. The game, although definitely a classic in its own right, had only been out for a year. That being said, it was supported by Naughty Dog and had tons of fans already wondering about who would be cast in it and who would get to direct. Nathan Fillion, an actor from Firefly and several other underground projects, had petitioned to get the role and was fancast for a long time. Eventually, he would wind up starring in the role in a fan film, but would never get any further than that. Initially, writers were even selected, but quickly fell through. The project hit dead air for a year or so until directors began to sign on. But, that was not the beginning of this project's trouble with keeping people...
2010-2019: Directed by...
To even touch a fifth of this film's production issues is to discuss the director's seat which remained filled and unfilled for nearly a decade. The first director/writer to sign on officially was David O. Russell, who even managed to get an actor signed on, whom I will mention later in this review. It seemed to be going well. However, he left to do Silver Linings Playbook. Now, they were left without a writer or director. So, next person to sign on was Neil Burger, who at the time had Limitless and The Illusionist under his belt. An odd choice, but certainly not the worst. Production is back! ... No, wait, he left for Divergent in 2012. The next two years were spent trying to convince writers like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to sign on, who declined every time they were asked. 2014 comes along and finally Seth Gordon steps in to direct. At the time known for comedy shows like The Office, Parks and Rec, and a few movies such as Identity Theft, this would've been an interesting choice. However, he soon backed out in favor of REAL movies like Baywatch (ha). Five years in and no director, no screenplay, and an actor was gradually aging out of the role. Luckily, 2016 would provide a break as a script from Joe Carnaham would prove to be well-received at Sony. 2017 would see them add Shawn Levy as director to the film and FINALLY an actor in the form of Tom Holland. They were set to get ready to film as soon as the script and director were ready. But, in keeping with this film's hideous reputation for keeping directors, Shawn Levy left in 2019, resulting in the next director Dan Trachtenberg signing on. This seemed promising, he had a Portal fan film under his belt and a very well-received horror movie to boot. Again, however, he dropped out to do his own film. Yet another director stepped in for a bit, aka Travis Knight, but he left fairly quickly. 2020 rolled around and their 2021 date seemed like it would need to be pushed. But...
2020: Finally underway! Or...
Ruben Fleischer, the director of both Zombieland movies and Venom (the first), would step in and helm the project. At last, filming could begin! It even did, on March 16th, 2020. This date may seem familiar to most, as it is the exact day all Hell broke loose and everything shut down to contain the COVID pandemic. Filming would be delayed for over four months until they could finally safely film with COVID restrictions now in place. While some cast members would catch the virus, it went off relatively without a hitch, no injuries or scratches to behold. But, you might be wondering, WHO IS PLAYING NATHAN DRAKE? Well, that role went to Tom Holland. But, you might be wondering as well, why did I mention there was another actor involved before? Well...
2010: Flashback for Casting
2010, an actor goes into an interview to discuss his role in the Uncharted movie being written by David O. Russell. This actor is known for his bad boy persona and being a potential racist. His name? Mark Wahlberg. Originally signed on for the role alongside Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro as his uncle and father respectfully (unsure why these characters exist now but okay), the film was set to focus on the 39 year old actor as Nathan Drake. He was about the right age to play the character, maybe a bit old, but nothing makeup couldn't do. Nathan Fillion was about the same age and people wanted him, so it wasn't too surprising. Then, the film took ten more years to get filming. He signed off the film by 2016 with no more David O. Russell to hold him down. So, 2017 rolled around and an impressionable new talent named Tom Holland starred in Spider-Man. So, best get him to play a young Nathan Drake! What could go wrong?
2017-2021: A Controversial Cast and Production Begins
Nathan Drake being played by a (at the time) 20 year old kid was borderline insulting for most of the fans. It was derided and laughed at, but, not to play devil's advocate, why should it be? It was meant to be a younger take on the character and discuss his own separate movie, so it could take liberties. It's when they mentioned it was tied to the games that people lost interest. So, they cast Tom as Drake. Sure, let's see how it goes. But, then, they made the baffling choice to cast Wahlberg as Sully. Tom could play a decent Nathan, but Wahlberg was far removed from the stern yet wise nature of Sully. Why him? Well, besides the point of contractual obligations, it was likely they expected to start earlier and have Tom be a bit younger. When production finally started on the film, it was indeed relatively uneventful. Film shot in several places, had to digitally recreate islands since COVID was restricting travel, and had to work around actors and their schedules. Finally the film was ready to go! It was delayed to early 2022 and the release date finally came. What could go wrong?
2022: What went wrong?
The film was not loved by fans of the property nor critics. While general audiences found it an acceptable film, it was set at 40% by critics while fans criticized the film online for not creating the action-packed game faithfully and having bland cut outs for characters. Honestly, I rode the hate train, even deriding the film in my own review of it. But, was it that bad? Yeah, but it deserved a bit of respect for even getting made. Most of the criticisms were aimed at the story and characters, but, of all things, people liked the casting. Strange isn't it? The film ended up doing well enough, making nearly 4 times its budget back, but the film barely holds its weight in public consciousness. What went wrong was, in the pursuit to make an Uncharted movie, they lost sight of making a proper movie and ensuring the story was good. An action film relies on action and engaging characters to make you feel suspense during its harsh scenes. When you cannot connect, you lose focus and interest. This film does not connect you to Drake nor Sully, thus the betrayals and action rarely connect on a personal level. It feels flat.
2023: Where does it stand?
The film barely holds its weight in modern cinema and was quickly forgotten. But, I think it should be remembered as an example of why we should always make sure the vision we dream up is one that will be respected. There are films like this with troubled or long productions that wind up getting made and end up really well-received. The Snyder Cut was a recent project that, while I have no love for it, was well-received by its fans after four years of campaigning and attempts to get it out. But, on the other end, you have films like this. Just make sure if you're chasing dreams in your future that they're dreams worth holding onto.
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