Most fans of the UNCHARTED videogame series were, in a word, elated when filmmaker David O. Russell recently departed the project, leaving behind his odd plans to transform the games' high-adventure into "a family that deals with heads of state and heads of museums and metes out justice."
Now that director Neil Burger (out promoting the DVD release of his surprisingly excellent thriller LIMITLESS) is involved, can we expect something more in step with the Nathan Drake that gamers know and love and control?
So far, Burger is saying all the right things, starting with not acknowledging Russell's script: "Mainly we’re beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame," he tells Crave. "It’s really one of the most cinematic videogames, and one that has really developed characters. So, you know, there’s a lot of cool, really intense things that, if they work for the film’s story, I want to use them."
Encouragingly, Burger doesn't seem to be blowing smoke: "THE BOURNE IDENTITY isn’t your father’s Cold War movie and this is a very different kind of [modern] treasure hunt movie. It’s very real and it has kind of an insane, wild feeling that comes out of the character; Nate being this con man and a bit of a hustler, living by his wits,ballsy and capable of anything."
You won't be seeing Mark Wahlberg in the part now, but Burger (also known for THE ILLUSIONIST and the under-appreciated indie INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSASSIN) is also aware of the fan clamor for Nathan Fillion in the role, which the filmmaker noncommittally addresses: "Where we are right now is that we’re literally starting from scratch on the screenplay, and I think that once we finish it, then we’ll go to actors and see who’s available and who’s right for the parts. Whenever that happens.