Filming on 'Uncharted' nearly underway as Tom Holland shares 'day one' pic
A movie adaptation of the PlayStation video game franchise Uncharted has been stuck in development hell for over a decade, but now it seems the film has finally got past the loading screen.
Spider-Man star Tom Holland has announced that he’s about the start shooting Uncharted, sharing a photo of a chair bearing the name “Nate” on his Instagram account with the caption “Day one #uncharted”.
Sony Pictures tells Yahoo that the production has not starting shooting yet, but the crew is prepping to start soon.
Nate refers to Holland’s character Nathan Drake, a swashbuckling treasure hunter who made his debut in 2007’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune on the PlayStation 3, and who has since appeared in a number of games bearing the Uncharted title across different gaming platforms.
The film, directed by Venom’s Ruben Fleischer, is set to be a prequel to the games, revealing the origins of Nathan Drake and his mentor Victor Sullivan, played by Mark Wahlberg. It also stars Antonio Banderas, Sophia Taylor Ali, and Tati Gabrielle.
Read more: Tom Holland promises Uncharted won’t be cursed
An adaptation of the best-selling game has been in development since 2008, with Spider-Man producer Avi Arad the driving force behind the project. The Fighter director David O Russell was attached to direct in 2010, with Mark Wahlberg set to star as Nathan Drake, but Russell departed the project the following year.
Following Russell’s exit, Seth Gordon (Baywatch), Shawn Levy (Stranger Things), Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) and Travis Knight (Bumblebee) were all attached to direct before Fleischer signed on. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Transformers: The Last Knight/Morbius) have written the screenplay.
Principle photography on the film was due to kick off in Berlin on 16 March but the production was shut down on day one due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, the shoot can resume at Babelsburg Film Studio just outside Berlin, before moving on to Spain.
Note: This article was amended on 15 July to clarify that shooting is still yet to recommence.
Uncharted is slated for release on 16 July, 2021.