Joe Carnaham Set to Pen ‘Uncharted’

It’s no surprise that Hollywood has had something of a difficult history trying to successfully adapt video games into the world of film. Sure there are handful that decently capture the feel of the games (i.e. Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat), but more often than not the majority of adaptations tend to fail as either regular films, adaptions or, in the case of Uwe Boll, both. So how should the video game community react to Hollywood finally getting ready to adapt a franchise that already emulates the experience of a Hollywood summer blockbuster? That might as well be the mindset behind the news that Uncharted, the iconic PlayStation-exclusive series, is finally getting a script. Reported by Variety, Sony has recruited director/producer Joe Carnaham (Narc, The Grey) to helm the script for an upcoming Uncharted film. Carnaham has expressed that, while he would definitely be interested in directing the movie, his involvement in the upcoming Bad Boys 3 film prevents him from doing so. “In a perfect world I would love to do both, but right now, I’m only on board to write the script,” he told Variety.

Perhaps my skepticism deviates from a love of the Uncharted games, but this is one of those franchises that really don’t need to be brought to the big screen. Not only are these games cinematic in terms of storytelling and set pieces, but the performances given by its voice actors Nolan North, Emily Rose, Richard McGonagle) via motion capture remain on par with that of mainstream actors. There is something of a silver lining here, as the series’ pulpy/Hollywood storylines essentially give Carnaham all the material necessary to write his Uncharted script scene for scene. With no real director or actors selected yet, only time will tell if the Uncharted movie will manage to live up to the hype and defy expectations.

Uncharted will be co-produced between Arad and Atlas Entertainment Production and will be overseen by Sony creative executive Jonathan Kadin. No other news has been given regarding the film’s current development.