Shawn Levy Targets Late Spring 2017 Start For Uncharted Movie, Addresses Casting Rumors

Shawn Levy is quietly gearing up for a busy 2017.

Earlier this week, we learned that the writer-director will circle back to Hawkins, Indiana to helm multiple episodes of Stranger Things season 2 – a series that is now in active production – but the Netflix sensation isn’t the only directing gig in the cards. That’s because Levy has climbed aboard the Uncharted movie and, in doing so, brought a sense of stability to a project that was once fraught with creative setbacks.

Still no release date to report, but we now understand that Levy is keen to get the cameras rolling mid-way through 2017. Chatting to Collider, the filmmaker began by expressing his long-time appreciation of Naughty Dog’s action-adventure series, and why he believes the eventual live-action movie will be worlds away from its genre peers.

“I’ve been interested in this project for years. I’ve played and loved every iteration of the game. I think it’s largely a popularly accepted notion that it’s as cinematic a game as we’ve had, maybe ever, certainly of late. And it’s cinematic in that it’s not only wildly visual, but it’s really rooted in character and a very specific tone and a sense of fun, right? When is the last great, fun, fucking action-dynamic, treasure-hunting movie? Right? It’s not Indiana Jones, it’s not National Treasure; it’s very specific, it’s all kind of anchored in Nathan’s tone. I am unabashedly thrilled to be making that next year.”

When asked about the casting search for Nathan Drake himself, Levy joked that any “square-jawed, ruggedly handsome” actor is in contention, and it seems Twitter has already located some candidates.

“I’ve been pitched everyone. God bless you, Twitter, but I made a joke that, “You’re saving me the money of hiring a casting director, Twitter,” because from Nikolaj [Coster-Waldau] to Oscar Isaac, [Nathan] Fillion, everyone that you would, [Chris] Pratt, Chris Evans, Chris Pine…The goal is to film in the late spring, early summer.”

Shawn Levy’s live-action rendition of Uncharted is officially moving forward. It’ll tap into Nathan Drake’s lineage, apparently, and introduce moviegoers to a swashbuckling treasure hunter who is, in essence, the antithesis of Indiana Jones.