The Tom Holland news keeps on coming today. After the surprise announcement that Sony and Disney have worked out their differences and will continue to share the “Spider-Man” franchise, it appears that another franchise for the actor, “Uncharted,” has been saved, also.
According to Deadline, Sony has worked out a deal to bring filmmaker Travis Knight on board to direct the upcoming “Uncharted” film, which is still set to star Holland as Nathan Drake. The film is a bit of an ‘Indiana Jones’-style adventure film where Holland will play the young Drake, who is going to eventually become the treasure hunter that has been the focus of several popular Playstation video games.
Knight comes aboard to replace the departing Dan Trachtenberg, who left the project back in August. The film has lingered in development for years, with various filmmakers coming and going over that time. But according to the report, Sony and Holland worked together in the discussions about who would be best suited to lead the production for “Uncharted,” ending up with Knight as their choice.
The filmmaker is probably best known for his recent films “Bumblebee” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” The latter of which is the critically-acclaimed animated feature that firmly planted Knight as one of the best up-and-coming filmmakers. “Bumblebee,” while not as acclaimed, has become a fan-favorite in the ‘Transformers’ series, ushering in what could be a rejuvenation of the stagnant robot franchise. With that film, Knight proved that he’s able to have a firm grasp on franchise filmmaking, especially when it comes to established IP.
No release date has been confirmed but production on the “Uncharted” film is actually scheduled to begin sometime in early 2020. This means that Holland will be a very busy man in 2020, as he’s likely to begin filming the untitled “Spider-Man 3” sometime in the first half of the year, as that film is already on the books for a July 2021 release.
Perhaps Knight is the missing piece to the puzzle that will bring Nathan Drake and “Uncharted” to the big screen.