After 7 Directors and 11 Years, the Uncharted Movie Is Now Filming

Even by “Hollywood production hell” standards, going through 7 directors over the course of 11 years is quite the gold standard. After all that time, it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise if we never saw the Uncharted videogame adaptation finally arrive, but lo and behold, it’s finally moving forward. The long-delayed film has finally started shooting with star Tom Holland, which the young leading man announced via an Instagram post noting his status as Uncharted central character Nathan “Nate” Drake.

The Uncharted film has been in the works since 2009, and has been an ordeal for all involved. Current director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom) is the seventh major name to be announced as leading the project, following the likes of David O. Russell, Neil Burger, Seth Gordon, Shawn Levy, Dan Trachtenberg and Travis Knight. The script, likewise, has been handed from writer to writer along the way, having been through so many rewrites that it’s probably difficult to know who’s most responsible for it at this point.

The film’s pre-production has taken so long, in fact, that actor Mark Wahlberg went from being planned as central star to wise veteran sidekick over the course of the planning. Wahlberg would initially have portrayed an adult Nathan Drake, but the studio eventually decided to go in a younger direction with Holland, known to audience as the MCU’s most recent Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Holland will be portraying a younger version of Drake than seen in the videogames, giving an introduction to the character while Wahlberg portrays older sidekick/father figure Victor “Sully” Sullivan.

Regardless, filming is now underway at Berlin’s Babelsberg Studio, after previously being shut down by the pandemic in March. It’s currently scheduled for a July 16, 2021 release date in IMAX and 70 mm by Sony, but it won’t surprise anyone if we see that date slip once again. Still, we’re closer to finally seeing that Uncharted movie now than we’ve ever been.