Above: Ryan Reynolds in Self/less (2015) Image source
Between Deadpool and Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Ryan Reynolds has become quite the fixture of nerd culture in the media - and he very nearly took part in another high-profile video game movie not starring an electric rodent. Reynolds was in consideration to play Nathan Drake in an R-rated Uncharted movie before he took on Deadpool, according to an interview with screenwriter and producer Joe Carnahan, whose work includes The A-Team, The Grey, and upcoming movie Bad Boys for Life.
In an episode of The Mutuals Interviews on the Discussing Film YouTube channel, Carnahan discussed his script for an Uncharted film "more skewed to an adult audience," starting around the 19:05 mark in the interview. Ryan Reynolds was "very, very close" to taking the role of beloved hero Nathan Drake before he was optioned to become Deadpool, which took him out of the running. Carnahan envisioned Bryan Cranston as Nathan's older buddy Victor Sullivan, which came true for the current, in-the-works version of the film, but Spider-Man: Homecoming's Tom Holland has since stepped in to play Nate.
"It was a lot of fun, and ultimately I wanted to make Amy [Hennig, game director on the first Uncharted] happy," says Carnahan, who says Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann "stole credit" for the series. Like so many of the upcoming video game movies, the production of the Uncharted film has been fraught with false starts and speed bumps; earlier this year, 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg stepped in after the previous director Shawn Levy departed the project. But you don't have to wait - you can watch Nathan Fillion's Uncharted fan film right this second to get your fix of quip-filled archaeological adventure.
As for the game itself, here's the inside story of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
