If you wanted to think of it this way, the new Uncharted movie could almost operate as Drake Begins. By filling in the gaps of the treasure-seekers early relationships with both Victor “Sully” Sullivan and his not-yet-seen brother, Uncharted lays the groundwork for a franchise that will only build up from this origin launch, especially thanks to the clues we got in the movie's ending. And based on how well Uncharted did at the box office this past weekend, a sequel likely is being discussed at Sony as we speak. But there was a moment in Uncharted when the character of Nathan Drake finally, and officially, came to life for leading man Tom Holland, and it involved a specific prop.
Late in the film, while fighting off goons aboard two flying pirate ships, Tom Holland’s character Nathan Drake slips into a shoulder holster, and it was at that moment that I thought to myself, “Oh yeah, that’s SO signature to Drake’s look.” Anyone who has played the Uncharted games developed by Naught Dog knows that the adventurer wears a double-shoulder holster over a sweaty t-shirt. His guns are always at the ready, and Holland putting it on completed the imagery. So during an interview, I asked Holland about the moment he put the holster on, and he admitted:
It was actually really exciting. Gary Dawson, who was our props master – who is a very good friend of mine, I’ve worked with him on numerous occasions – he gave me the holster, I tried it on. And there was something about putting it on which completed the look. It kind of just brought the character to life in a really, really visual way. So it was really awesome.
When Hollywood tries to make adaptations of video game properties, they can overlook something as simple as a costume design or a signature prop that actually are key to the characters in the story. And leaving the holster off of Nathan Drake in Uncharted wouldn’t have been a deal breaker, but it might have suggested that the producers didn’t understand this world as much as fans would have hoped that they do.
Fans have been waiting for this movie for a long time, mainly thanks to Mark Wahlberg teasing it for almost a decade. The reviews on the movie were less than spectacular, but audiences didn’t mind. They flocked to theaters to support their guy, Tom Holland, who now has back-to-back smashes in this and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The actor has said that he plans to take a break from acting once he finishes work on an AppleTV+ program. However, given the success of both the Spider-Man and Uncharted franchises, we expect Sony to dangle large paychecks in front of the actor to get him back for sequels to both.
Uncharted just started its run at the theaters, but will face competition from The Batman once the new DC movie lands in theaters. What else is on its way to a multiplex near you? Scan our Upcoming Movie Release Calendar for the latest information.
