Uncharted movie’s Tom Holland teases ‘an origin story to the games’

After experiencing a few recent bumps in the road that somehow seem almost apt for a seat-of-the-pants character like Nathan Drake, the Uncharted movie is getting a little fresh buzz — and this time, for all the right reasons. 

Tom Holland, who’ll pause from his Spider-Man web slinging to star as Drake in the upcoming video game adaptation, recently revealed that the upcoming film will take fans into a new territory that not even Naughty Dog's hugely successful games have yet explored: the backstory to how Drake got started in the relic-hunting business in the first place. 

Speaking with IGN about how to nail the ever-elusive formula for making a successful movie out of a video game franchise, Holland said the key for Uncharted is to show fans something that the games, so far, haven’t. 

“I think what Uncharted offers that most video games films don't is that it's an origin story to the games,” he explained. “So if you played the games, you haven't seen what's going to happen in the film. And if you haven't played the games, you're going to enjoy the film because it's information that everyone else is getting at the same time. But I'm super excited to make that movie and it's been a long time coming.”

Casting the youthful Holland in the role of Drake — a guy who’s by now a seasoned and grizzled veteran of multiple adventures in Uncharted titles spanning both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 console generations — well, it makes a little more sense when framed as an origin story. Holland told IGN he’d recently read through screenwriter Joe Carnahan’s latest script draft, and gushed that “it's one of the best scripts I've ever read. It really, really jumps off the page.”

That’s definitely great news for Uncharted fans following Sony Pictures’ long-churning development, including its recent departure of previously attached director Travis Knight (who replaced 10 Cloverfield Lane's Dan Trachtenberg and is now rumored to be replaced by Zombieland and Venom director, Ruben Fleischer). All that churning caused a delayed release date that’s pushed the movie three months from its planned late-2020 premiere. But if it takes the studio a little more time to craft an origin story for one of gaming’s most intrepid and down-to-earth heroes, Holland’s obvious enthusiasm will likely go a long way toward keeping fans optimistic while waiting for the finished product. 

Starring Holland along with Mark Wahlberg as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, the Uncharted movie is set to arrive March 5, 2021.