Neil Druckmann and Tom Holland talk ‘Uncharted’

Fans are buzzing about a recent interview with Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann and Tom Holland, who is set to star in an adaptation of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted.

Druckmann and Holland sat down to discuss the upcoming Uncharted film adaptation, which is set to hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2022. Holland will play the video game franchise protagonist, Nathan Drake, in an origin story digging into the motivation and drive that turned the character into a treasure-hunting legend.

In a new take on the classic Indiana Jones-style story, Uncharted aims to take one of Naughty Dog’s most popular franchises and adapt it for the big screen. As noted by Holland and Druckmann in the interview, the Uncharted games are already immensely cinematic, which made their reimagining for film an easy process.

The Uncharted film has been in the works for quite some time, according to Druckmann, who has been a part of the Uncharted team since 2006. He came on before the first game in the franchise — Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune — was released, all the way back in 2007.

The most difficult thing to recreate on the big screen, according to Holland, was “the heart of the games.” He said that the “little puzzles along the way” really communicate the same mysterious and adventurous vibe of the popular video game franchise, and lauded the team behind the film for working to develop an honest, but new, version of the story.

As for Druckmann, he said the most important aspect of the adaptation was Drake himself. He emphasized the importance of making the character “relatable” and “human,” and noted the importance of providing fans with an origin story for one of Naughty Dog’s most popular protagonists.

The duo seems hopeful that Uncharted will debut with an intriguing and rich storyline populated by relatable, enticing characters. Both leaned into their excitement at the opportunity to reinterpret the video game franchise in a new way, in hopes of expanding the story’s audience.

“I think the fanbase of the games are gonna be really impressed by this kind of unique version of their beloved games,” Holland said. “You know, movies aren’t made like this anymore, and I’m glad that we were able to pull this off.”