ZERO DARK THIRTY Screenwriter to Pen UNCHARTED Film
Sony Pictures went out and hired an Oscar-winning screenwriter for their big screen adaptation of the hit video game Uncharted. The writer's name is Mark Boal, and he's written the scripts for the incredible war films Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker. He's a much better choice than the writer of the National Treasure movies, who is one of the writers they previously hired.
According to THR, Boal is a big fan of the video game franchise, and he envisions the story as a "swashbuckling adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones." That's basically a description of the video game, but if he can help bring the story and the Nathan Drake character to life on the big screen in an amazing way, then what more can the fans ask for?
The last we heard, the plan was to start shooting in 2015, so they've still got some time to get the script right. The video game centers on a treasure hunter named Nate Drake, who is a descendent of explorer Sir Francis Drake. He believes he has learned the location of the legendary golden South American city of El Dorado from a cursed statue. While on his search El Dorado, things take a turn when a rival treasure hunter joins in on the search. Along the way Drake faces crazy creatures, mutated descendants of Spaniards, and even Nazis.
Sony is still looking for the actor to take on the lead role of Drake. Mark Wahlberg was attached at one point, and the studio recently offered it to Chris Pratt, but, unfortunately, he passed. Pratt would have been a great choice! At least the development of the film is moving forward. This is one I've been excited about seeing a feature film adaptation for.
Boal is currently writing Triple Frontier for director Kathryn Bigelow. The story for that film centers on the controversial Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was imprisoned by the Taliban and freed this year in a trade for prisoners held by the U.S. in Guantanamo Bay.