Tom Holland And Neil Druckmann Talk About Adapting Uncharted For Film

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann and movie star Tom Holland have discussed the upcoming Uncharted movie, which opens in theaters on February 18. In an interview published on social media, Holland said one of the biggest challenges in making the movie was making it feel heartfelt.

"When we were making it into a film, the game is already so cinematic. We had a base layer for how we wanted the film to look. The hardest thing to try to recreate was the heart of the games," he said.

As for Druckmann, he mentioned that one of the biggest goals was to make Nathan Drake come across as relatable and human, as opposed to simply an action hero. Druckmann also spoke about how he is a big fan of how the film tells an origin story for Drake, picking up when he's a bartender. Drake has an itch to go on adventures and realize his destiny, and when Sully (Mark Wahlberg) shows up and presents him with an opportunity, he has no choice but to embrace adventure and start a new life, Holland said.

The actor also stressed that the Uncharted movie is not an adaptation of any of the games, but is instead a new version that stands on its own. That being said, the film is clearly taking inspiration directly from key scenes in the games, like Uncharted 3's cargo plane sequence. The film will also have sequences where the characters solves puzzles, just like in the games, Holland said. "I think the fan base of the games are going to be really impressed with this unique version of their beloved games," Holland said.

Finally, Holland said the actor who plays Nathan Drake in the games, Nolan North, has been very supportive of Holland's new ideas for the character that we'll see in the movie.

Uncharted the movie opens on February 18. In addition to Holland and Wahlberg, it features Antonio Banderas as the villain, along with Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer. The film was written by Iron Man's Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, and was directed by Venom's Ruben Fleischer.

As for the Uncharted game series, the new PS5 compilation package, The Legacy of Thieves Collection, was just released. Looking ahead, Naughty Dog has a "never say never" attitude about making Uncharted 5.