Mark Boal Boards Uncharted

Zero Dark Thirty writer tackling Nathan Drake movie

Sony has been trying to push an adaptation of console title Uncharted for years now, with little forward motion. It may not have had much success landing a director or star, but the studio thinks it might be on firmer ground with its script, hiring Zero Dark Thirty writer Mark Boal to take a crack.

Uncharted, of course, follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake, a descendent of Sir Francis Drake and a man who thinks he’s learned the whereabouts of the fabled South American city El Dorado and heads out to find it, facing off against a rival and strange creatures also after the city’s secrets.

At one point, the studio had David O. Russell aboard to make the movie, but though he convinced Mark Wahlberg to star, his take on the story didn’t mesh with what the company wanted to do. Since then, Sony offered the Drake role to Chris Pratt, but he passed on it, likely concerned that it’s a little too similar to Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Star-Lord or his macho Jurassic World character.

Writing-wise, the likes of Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, David Guggenheim and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley have all taken a shot at the script, so Boal is hardly the first to tackle the challenge of crafting what the studio hopes will be an Indiana Jones-style adventure. After winning an Oscar for The Hurt Locker and a nomination for Zero Dark Thirty, Boal has been working on developing Triple Frontier with Thirty/Locker director Kathryn Bigelow.

from Empire News