The Uncharted Movie Finally Has A Trailer

After hearing rumblings about an Uncharted movie in 2008, and an official announcement of Tom Holland playing the lead role of Nathan Drake in 2017, the very first trailer finally dropped on October 21st, 2021. There’s a lot that could be said about the production of this movie. Since 2008 the Uncharted series has seen three mainline and two side games released, and children have gone from kindergarten to applying to colleges, but maybe that will be a piece for another day. For now, I think it’s best to just be optimistic and excited that a movie trailer for one of Sony’s biggest video game franchises actually exists.

For those unfamiliar with the Uncharted series, it mainly follows Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter whose adventures usually involve dangerous people and adrenaline-pumping situations. Usually, the events of the games make for some wonderful cinematic experiences. A lot of people would compare him to the titular movie archeologist from Indiana Jones as well as Lara Croft from the famous Tomb Raider series, albeit with a lot more guns (than Indy anyway) and bad guy killing.

The film is intent on exploring Nathan Drake’s origins and his first adventure. While this isn’t the same older Drake that we’re used to since the original entry in the series (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune) already had him at 31 years old, it does make more sense with the casting of Tom Holland. Only so much can be evaluated from the trailer, but Tom Holland doesn’t seem bad for a younger version of the character. I have more qualms about the casting of Mark Wahlberg as the fan-favorite father figure Victor “Sully” Sullivan, but I’ll save my judgment for the film.

In regards to the trailer overall, there’s a familiar dose of history, action, and comedy. It definitely felt like Uncharted to me, except for the swanky big city-looking bar. It also helps that there are some setpieces borrowed from the games, such as the famous mid-air cargo plane in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and apparently some elements from Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. I’m hoping they don’t take too many elements from the games, especially since I’m waiting for the latter to release on PC next year to finally play it, but time will tell.

It’s weird to finally see the Uncharted film in some form, but it’s also pretty exciting. I’d love for it to really nail the characters down so that I care about the movie versions. Regardless, as long as they can come up with action pieces that are as intense as those presented in the games, it will be enjoyable to watch at the least. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for more information on the film’s website as we approach its February 18th, 2022 release date.