Let’s face it, most video game movie adaptations have been… not great. From Super Mario Bros. to Street Fighter to Assassin’s Creed, video games haven’t exactly inspired great cinema. But that could be changing. The new Witcher series looks pretty great (that’s technically based on books, but there’s still some influence from the games), and the upcoming film adaptation of Uncharted has loads of potential — especially now that Mark Wahlberg has joined the cast.
Although Wahlberg bears more than a passing resemblance to Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake, that’s not who he’ll be playing in the film. Spider-Man star Tom Holland secured the role of Drake months ago. Instead, Wahlberg will portray Drake’s mentor and fellow treasure hunter, Victor “Sully” Sullivan. Given Sully’s wit, penchant for cigars, and glorious mustache, we’re guessing Wahlberg will have a ton of fun in the role.
An Uncharted movie has been in development for the better part of a decade. Wahlberg was originally signed on to play Nathan Drake in an Uncharted adaptation back in 2010, but the film never manifested. When the new project came about and was retooled to be an origin story for Drake (hence Holland’s casting), the Transformers star still wanted to be involved in some way, according to Variety.
Uncharted is set to be directed by Bumblebee‘s Travis Knight from a script by Rafe Judkins (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway (Iron Man). The film was previously scheduled to hit theaters in Dec. 2020, but that was back when previous director Dan Trachtenberg was attached. With Knight now taking over, it’s unclear if the movie will keep this date or if it will be delayed yet again.
