‘Uncharted’ Movie Loses Yet Another Director As Shawn Levy Leaves
Though Sony has been trying for nearly 10 years, the studio still hasn’t been able to adapt the popular video game seriesUnchartedinto a blockbuster movie. It’s experienced a revolving door of directors and that door continues to spin, becauseReal SteelandNight at the MuseumdirectorShawn Levy, the fourth person to be attached, has now vacated the position as well.
Yes, Sony will need yet anotherUncharteddirector. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Levy is stepping away from theUnchartedfilm and will instead direct a movie calledFree Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds, Lil Rel, and Jodie Comer, which just received a green light. You canread more about that project here. In the meantime, Sony is on the hunt for a new filmmaker to bringUnchartedacross the finish line.
Tom Holland(Spider-Man: Homecoming,The Impossible) is still attached to playa young version of video game protagonist Nathan Drake, a globe-trotting treasure hunter who’s a descendant of Sir Francis Drake. In the games, Drake teams with a journalist named Elena Fisher and his old friend and mentor Victor Sullivan to discover lost cities and save the world – they’re cinematic, fast-paced, and in my mind, the perfect action-adventure games. Drake is a guy who flies by the seat of his pants, a crack shot who’s always ready with a loaded gun and a witty retort – think a more modern Indiana Jones, like a real Nathan Fillion type. (Fillionstarred in a fan filmearlier this year.) By exploring a younger take on the character, it seemed as if screenwriter Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, The Grey) was going to be able to sidestep some of the inherent problems of bringing a video game to the big screen. It’s unclear ifCarnahan’s finished scriptis still in play, but the movie adaptation is back in limbo again.
Levy, who’s also directed several episodes ofStranger Things, is the latest filmmaker to leaveUnchartedhigh and dry.David O. Russell(Silver Linings Playbook, Three Kings)was attached back in 2010with Mark Wahlberg playing a more traditional version of Nathan Drake, and that iteration was courting Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci to play supporting roles. A few months later,LimitlessdirectorNeil Burgerhad replaced Russell in the director’s chair. That lasted until 2014, when Burger exited andSeth Gordon(The King of Kong, Horrible Bosses)signed on. Heleftthe next year, and Levycame on boardin 2016.
Will this movieeverget made? The games are popular and successful enough that it seems unlikely that Sony will abandon the concept (they already own the intellectual property rights, since the games were developed for their PlayStation platform). But at this point, the film might be as cursed as the gold of El Dorado in the game.
