Tom Holland says it was difficult to find the right uncharted director

Tom Holland has spoken out about the long-drawn-out process of choosing the proper director for Sony’s Uncharted film, describing it as “stressful.”

Following the success of the first PS3 game, Sony Pictures began developing the anticipated video game film for the big screen in 2008. Since then, the project has been directed by David O. Russell, Seth Gordon, and Dan Trachtenberg, among others.

Ruben Fleischer, who directed Zombieland: Double Tap and Venom, was eventually attached to direct the picture, and it went into full production in 2020.

right uncharted director

Holland plays young adventurer Nathan Drake, who is drawn into the world of relics, danger, and glory with his mentor Sully, played by Mark Wahlberg in this semi-prequel to the game series. Because of the film’s troubled production history, Wahlberg (who was originally slated as the heroic Drake in 2008) was able to assume the supporting father-figure role.

Holland and Wahlberg are joined by Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas, and Tati Gabrielle, among others, to bring a screenplay written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the creative partnership behind Iron Man. Fans of the games are delighted, but wary of the film (following years of failed video game adaptation).

In a new interview with Total Film, lead actor and Spider-Man star Tom Holland discuss the difficulties in finding the right director for the ambitious film. Holland recalls how some previously attached directors “had ideas that we didn’t like,” which resulted in a frenzy of behind-the-scenes activity. “There were several different forms of Drake, and […] Sully,” he continues, referring to the characters’ characterization.

Holland describes how some of the directors wanted to “create the game” in an apparently shot-for-shot manner, while others strayed significantly from the original material. The Hollywood celebrity expresses his displeasure with the process, saying, “It’s pretty difficult hunting for a director.”

Read the whole of his interview below:

“Some of [the directors] came in, and had ideas that we didn’t like, that just didn’t fit the characters, and we had to move on to other people. We took inspiration from everyone. There were very different variations of Drake, and very different variations of Sully. Some people preferred to make the game, some people wanted to make it completely different to the game. It was an interesting process – one that I wouldn’t like to be in again. It’s quite stressful looking for a director.”

Uncharted is likely to be one of the year’s biggest films, packed with the video game’s signature huge action set-pieces, as seen in the just-released clip, which reconstructs one of the game’s most infamous and intense high-altitude scenes.