The Uncharted movie that may or may never happen has reportedly nabbed a big actor. According to Deadline, Tom Holland, who will appear in this summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, has been tapped to play a young Nathan Drake.
If you’ve played the Uncharted series of video games, then you’re familiar with the younger adventurer, who appeared in several flashback sequences in the later games. Turns out, the upcoming Uncharted movie will primarily be a prequel series that focuses entirely on Drake as a kid, rather than the older, more weathered version we see in the main story.
Which means, we may also see Drake’s brother, Sam, who was in the fourth entry in the series as both a kid and an adult. Presumably, the prequel will be used as a setup for other entries in the series, with Holland playing the adult version of Drake as well (Holland turns 21 in June).
Deadline reports Sony was so impressed by Holland’s turn in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming that they decided to completely retool the Uncharted film into a prequel just for him. That’s a huge vote of confidence for the young actor.
“This reformulation of the franchise was an inspiration of Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman after seeing the latest cut of the Spider-Man film,” Deadline’s sources report.
In the games, it’s revealed that Nate and Sam were orphans who are eventually separated. Nate then links up with Sully, a longtime partner and surrogate father figure to the young boy. It’s unclear how closely the prequel film will follow the games, if at all.
Hearing that the Uncharted movie will start with a “prequel” reminds me of the fantastic flashback in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which we get a look at a younger Indiana Jones (played by River Phoenix) as he steals a golden crucifix from a group of grave robbers. Let’s hope the Uncharted movie is a bit like that.
No release date has been set for the Uncharted film, but with a Spider-Man sequel and Infinity War on his plate, Holland is a busy man.