After some early speculation, IndieWire reports that Mark Wahlberg will headline Uncharted, David O. Russell‘s adaptation of the best-selling Playstation 3 video game.
Earlier in the year, reports surfaced that Russell – a firebrand whose famously combative directing style (and fist-fight with George Clooney on the set of Three Kings) is the stuff of legend – will not just helm the release but write the script himself. And then he wasn’t. And then he was again. Talk died down as the release of Russell’s The Fighter ramped up, but Wahlberg has confirmed all the rumors while speaking to MTV (via CHUD): “David is one of the best writer/directors I’ve ever worked with. The idea that he has [for Uncharted] is just insane. So hopefully we’ll be making that movie this summer.”
Wahlberg goes on to comment on the rumors that he’ll be joined by both Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci:
“The idea of it is so off the charts: De Niro being my father, Pesci being my uncle. It’s not going to be the watered-down version, that’s for sure.”
The critically-acclaimed, best-selling Uncharted franchise consists of the games Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, the games are exclusive to the Playstation 3 and combine elements of a third-person shooter with 3D-platforming. The games’ storylines pit Nathan Drake, ancestor of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake, in high-stakes, globe-spanning treasure-hunting adventures.
The games are part-Indiana Jones and part-National Treasure (which may rip off the Indy films but ramp up the puzzle-solving elements), and if a filmmaker like National Treasure-helmer Jon Turtletaub were to handle the film version, his bland, corporate style would ensure a pale imitation of both.
With David O. Russell at the helm, I’m expecting a revisionist personal stamp to this material. Choosing an auteur like Russell for this adaptation is already a bold choice, and adding DeNiro and Pesci to the mix as characters who haven’t appeared in the games sounds like fun. (It’d be great to see more of Pesci in particular, seeing as how his only role since the DeNiro-directed The Good Shepherd was as a whorehouse owner this year’s Love Ranch).
Are you a fan of Uncharted? Are you excited about Russell and Wahlberg’s involvement?