That sequel to the 2022 Uncharted film that approximately five of us actually liked is officially in production. The news was confirmed by Variety earlier today after Sony mentioned an Uncharted sequel at CineEurope 2024 while running down its pipeline of upcoming movies.
The Uncharted film, which was set to be released at the height of the pandemic before numerous delays, finally released in 2022. Though it debuted to mixed reviews, the movie was a box office success, warranting an obvious sequel.
Though we know very little about the Uncharted sequel at the moment, it’s likely safe to assume that the movie’s leads, Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, will be reprising their roles as the rogue duo of Nathan Drake and Victor “Sully” Sullivan, respectively. The first movie acted as a sort of origin story for how the now-iconic treasure hunters first met, and much of the games have charted the development of their relationship, making their dynamic easy fodder to continue mining for further movies.
The ending of the Uncharted film also explicitly sets up the beginning of the first game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, which follows Nate and Sully as they track down the treasure of Nate’s namesake, Sir Francis Drake, and come across some Nazi fuckery during their adventure. Though the next film could be an original story much like the first, following the games from here on out seems like a pretty natural progression.
If the Uncharted sequel film does follow the games and adapts the first one, it will also likely introduce one of the last major characters of the main cast: Elena Fisher. Elena is a reporter who follows (and finances) Nate and Sully’s journey in the first game, but over the course of the series, she becomes Nate’s foil and eventually even his wife. Their will-they-won’t-they dynamic, as well as Elena’s unique ability to cut right through Nate’s BS, gives us some of the best parts of the games. Their banter and sweeping romance is ripe for the big screen, and if I’m being honest, the first film felt like it was really lacking Elena.
Outside of the confirmation that another Uncharted film is in the works, the series has been pretty quiet for a while now. After retiring Nate in 2016’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, there’s only been one other title in the franchise, which was the subsequent year’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. That spinoff, which began as an expansion to A Thief’s End, followed Chloe Frazer, another main character of the series who did happen to feature in the first film. Considering it’s now been seven years since that game came out, some feel like it’s time for a new Uncharted game rather than another film.
Naughty Dog, the studio that created Uncharted, has been busy since moving on from the series though, predominantly with its other megaton multimedia franchise, The Last of Us. While there’s little hope of the studio picking back up the reins, Sony has plenty of other studios that could take up the mantle, or enough resources to form a team to do it. Maybe one day we’ll get the Uncharted sequel that folks actually want.
