Director Travis Knight Departs Uncharted Movie
By Here we are again! Last we heard (a couple of months ago), the long in development, much beleaguered adaptation of the Sony videogame Uncharted had yet another new director, this time in Bumblebee’s Travis Knight. Tom Holland was still on board to play mass-murdering adventurer Nathan Drake, and Mark Wahlberg had just joined as Sully. But that rare moment of apparent stability has passed, and the good ship Uncharted is heading back into the storm. Holland’s ongoing Spider-Man commitments have created a scheduling conflict, and with that delay to Uncharted, Knight is likely to depart, leaving the film rudderless again.
The Uncharted series, should you be unaware, is a globe-trotting, loot-hunting set of Playstation games, blending Indiana Jones-style adventuring with several parts Tomb Raider and just a dash of National Treasure. Its hero is Nathan Drake (voiced by Nolan North), who undertakes action-packed trips to the likes of El Dorado, Shambala and the Iram of the Pillars, quipping many a quip and shooting many a henchman along the way. For years the internet was of one voice in its desperation for Nathan Fillion to play Drake onscreen. At one point about a decade ago, David O Russell was planning a version in which Wahlberg was on to play Drake. This film goes around and comes around.
Knight’s immediate predecessor in the director’s chair was Dan Trachtenberg, who had in turn replaced Shawn Levy, who replaced Joe Carnahan, who replaced Seth Gordon, who replaced Neil Burger, who replaced Russell. Now the revolving door is spinning once again. Whoever emerges next, it now basically impossible to meet the currently pencilled-in release date of Christmas 2020, so expect Sony to announce a revised estimate at some point in the near future. Holland and Wahlberg remain attached for the time being at least, and the screenplay is currently credited to Carnahan, Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.