After news came out earlier this month that Limitless director Neil Burger would be replacing David O. Russell as the director of upcoming video game-to-film project Uncharted, many fans rejoiced. Now I’ve had confirmation from Burger himself that not only is the script being re-written from scratch, but that he’s a huge Uncharted fan and the movie will definitely stay true to the video game.
I had a chance to sit down with Burger today to talk about Limitless, which starred Bradley Cooper and hits the streets tomorrow on DVD/Blu-Ray. While we mainly chatted about Limitless, he was kind enough to talk a little bit about Uncharted.
Beset by issues from the get-go, die-hard gamers felt the choice of Mark Wahlberg to play adventurer Nathan Drake was all wrong, and there was a general worry that Russell would veer too far away from the video game. He reportedly meant to introduce a slew of new characters not found in the game, and also he had never played it. Negative online buzz also surrounded Wahlberg’s selection as leading man.
Now, rabid Uncharted fans can breathe a little easier. Though Burger didn’t say outright that Wahlberg was no longer attached to the project, he did make it sound like no official casting decisions had been made.
We’re re-writing the script from scratch, and I’m just jumping into that literally right now, about to close the deal and leap off. Until the screenplay is written you never know who’s going to be acting in it or not. But there are a lot of good actors out there who even look like Nathan Drake and who could do it.
I love the project, I think it’s a great adventure and it’s a wild insane ride…the game is and the movie will be. I mean it has pretty great character at its core, Nathan is a bit of a con man, a hustler…knows his stuff, ballsy..it’s great.
He also mentioned he was going to stay true to the game, and would strike the right balance to make this video game adaptation not only true to the source material, but a good movie. When asked, “So you’re planning on staying pretty true to the game?”
Absolutely. And then you know you have to do what a movie does best, as well…build on what’s cool about the game and then make it into a movie.
Yeah there will be (balance) in this one, this one is a very great adventure, and it’s just a matter of pulling out the the very cool intense stuff that works for the film story, and making sure the story supports those elements and also makes us really connected to the character.
Hopefully this puts some fears to rest. It’s good to hear that Burger is a fan of the videogame and the character. It also sounds like casting is still wide open, which means it’s anyone’s guess who will play Nathan Drake.
Check back for the full interview with Burger on Limitless, coming later this week.