A beloved video game franchise started by reverse-engineering movies. Now, it is one.
One of the most successful PlayStation franchises of all time began by trying to rival Hollywood's approach to blockbuster storytelling.
"When we set out to make Uncharted, we were trying to reverse-engineer summer blockbusters," Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, says. "And then we were like, how do we put that on the [joy]stick?"
Since 2007, the series, inspired by Indiana Jones, took players on adventures across the world and to the cutting edge of graphics technology. Noted for its lush settings and top-tier voice cast, Uncharted garnered acclaim and shipped tens of millions of copies across four main games.
Nearly 15 years later, a Hollywood edition of the franchise premieres next month starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.
The process of adapting the games to the big screen wasn't straightforward. The movie was stuck in development for so long that Wahlberg, originally tapped to play protagonist Nathan Drake, and into that of Nathan's mentor. Sony Pictures secured the bankable charisma of Holland to play the fortune-hunter. games himself â the 25-year-old star was eager to take a swing at the part originated by veteran.
