Uncharted movie director Shawn Levy has stepped down from the project. The director had been helming this upcoming film adaptation of Nathan Drake’s adventures, but it seems that he has set his sights on another movie entirely.
Our sister site ComingSoon.net states that a lengthy report from The Hollywood Reporter has the news about the Uncharted movie director leaving the project. The news is in the midst of a piece about Ryan Reynolds’ upcoming movie Free Guy, ironically another movie about video games.
Shawn Levy has signed on to direct this film which will also be starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Joe Keery (Stranger Things), and Lil Rel (The Carmichael Show, Get Out). As a consequence, Shawn Levy is no longer the Uncharted movie director.
We don’t have much more in the way of details about the upcoming Uncharted film. We do know (via THR) that Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland remains attached to the project; he’ll be playing the role of a young Nathan Drake. While many fans might have hoped to see the adventures of the adult Mr. Drake, the movie’s writers have decided to make it a prequel. The plot is going to be based in part on a sequence in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception where we see a young Nathan Drake first encountering his partner Victor Sullivan. This sequence sets up the overarching plot of the franchise and it may very well be attempting to do the same for the films, although it could just as easily exist as a single standalone movie.
The script of the Uncharted movie had seen several drafts before arriving at a version that was okayed for production. Half a dozen writers had submitted a draft based on the concept including the people behind Zero Dark Thirty, Doctor Strange, and The Hurt Locker. Ultimately, a new writer is being brought aboard to take the general premise of the film and bring it to life on the silver screen.
With the loss of the Uncharted movie director and a string of drafts behind it, the film adaptation of Nathan Drake’s adventures may be in for a rough ride. Sony is currently in the process of searching for a replacement director for the film.