David O. Russell’s (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees) adaptation of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is moving closer and closer to its shooting schedule and more news keeps coming. With Mark Wahlberg now confirmed to star as Nathan Drake, Russell tells the Los Angeles Times that “he’s halfway done with the script.”
So early in the process, little can be known how direct an adaptation Russell is planning for Drake’s first film outing, but rumor has been not very in terms of game plot. What is confirmed, however, is that Nate will not be the only Drake running around in Russell’s adaptation. Unlike the original game, taking place mainly on an island where Nate hunts for the lost treasure of his ancestor (real life explorer) Sir Francis Drake, Russell has made it known that the stage will be expanded for his film, taking Nate all over the world for a purpose yet to be revealed. That concept is not so crazy when you look at the second game, “Among Thieves."
Remember those casting rumors about Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci, who may potentially play Nate's father and uncle respectively? Here’s where fans of the series begin to feel the hair stand on the back of their necks: Russell plans on putting Nate’s extended family (who have never been seen prior) into the story. Suddenly, those rumors are starting to build a little steam.
Russell tells the Times he loves the idea of “a family that's a force to be reckoned with in the world of international art and antiquities … a family that deals with heads of state and heads of museums and metes out justice.”
If fans were nervous about the adaptation prior to this statement, it’s a safe bet that they may not be feeling any more comfortable afterwards. The series has been well recognized for its writing, notably in the area of great lead characters (courtesy of Amy Hennig) and Russell going out on his own, developing canon characters is a risk, to say the least.
No word on whether Naughty Dog, developer of the “Uncharted” series, approves or will be involved in the development of Nate’s family within the script. Though, with Russell’s reputation for being “temperamental” having already left the adaptation once prior, we wouldn’t bank on it.
