The Uncharted movie has parted ways with its fifth director. According to Deadline, Dan Trachtenberg, the director of 10 Cloverfield Lane, has left the production after being confirmed for the role back in January of this year. It's not all bad news for fans who have been waiting to see a cinematic take on Nathan Drake's story: Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is still set to fill the role of Nathan Drake, and the Uncharted movie is now set to be the first cinematic feature headed up by PlayStation Productions, Sony's home-grown take on the Marvel Studios formula.
The Uncharted movie adaptation has been rolling back and forth in development hell since the dawn of time, and this won't speed things along. However, Deadline reports that Sony is already meeting with potential replacements for Trachtenberg, with plans to lock down a new director by the end of the summer and start production in early 2020. Sixth time's the charm, right?
PlayStation Productions was revealed to the public back in May, with leader Asad Qizilbash saying the new Sony studio would be perfectly positioned to create TV and film adaptations of PlayStation properties: "One, because we’re more familiar, but also because we know what the PlayStation community loves." With more direct control and collaboration between game makers, film makers, and the PlayStation community, the studio hopes to create a better breed of game adaption.
PlayStation Productions was announced without a big initial project to crystalize its mission statement. Though I was excited to see what Trachtenberg would do with the opportunity, at least this particular change-up is a good first project and fresh start for the studio. You could hardly ask for a better bridge between the worlds of games and film than Uncharted. I mean, assuming Ape Escape is off the table.
See what the Uncharted movie will be up against with our list of the best video game movies.
