Try as they might, Sony has been having trouble getting the massively popular video game “Uncharted” to the big screen. David O. Russell was once attached to direct, and there was even talks of Mark Wahlberg, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci taking roles in the movie, but that never came to pass. Then earlier this year, Seth Gordon (“King Of Kong,” “Identity Thief”) signed up to helm the movie, but there has been little in the way of news since, other than a planned release date for 2016. And before that can happen, Sony needs a leading man and a new script.
THR reports that the studio made an offer to man-of-the-moment Chris Pratt, who passed on the movie. And given that the actor is already leading two franchises — “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and next summer’s “Jurassic World,” of which we presume there will be more — we figure he probably doesn’t have space for a third. Particularly with a role that’s not dissimilar to his Peter Quill/Star-Lord, with “Uncharted” centering around a treasure hunter, who also runs into a good variety of different characters. So scratch Pratt, and as these things usually go, we’re sure a shortlist will emerge soon enough.
Meanwhile, in a bit of a surprising move, “Zero Dark Thirty” screenwriter Mark Boal will be giving a polish on the script by David Guggenheim (“Safe House“). Apparently, the writer is a fan of the video game, so file this under…”Huh?” So, “Uncharted” with 25% more waterboarding? Guess we’ll see. And Boal is the latest in a string of scribes — Russell, Guggenheim, Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley — who’ve put their pen to the franchise over the years, but it sounds like it’s getting close to the finish line.
More to come soon as “Uncharted” is slated for June 10, 2016.