Uncharted film reportedly loses its director

Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) will no longer direct the Uncharted movie after reportedly leaving the project.

However, Deadline sources indicate Sony is in the process of meeting with potential replacements and expects to appoint a new director by end of the summer.

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland remains attached to star as Nathan Drake. Rather than following the plot of the games, the movie will tell a prequel story featuring Drake as a young treasure hunter learning from his mentor Sully.

The film will reportedly begin production early next year, ahead of a planned December 18, 2020 release date.

In a new development, Deadline claims the movie will become the first feature production of PlayStation Productions, a studio formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to adapt its original game properties for film and television.

PlayStation Productions is headed up by veteran Sony marketeer Asad Qizilbash and overseen by SIE chairman of worldwide studios Shawn Layden.

With players having to wait years for sequels to blockbuster games, Layden has said PlayStation Production can provide “more touch points” with Sony’s franchises, but it won’t be pressured into releasing adaptations simply to fill gaps in PlayStation’s content schedule.

“We don’t have to rush to market,” he said in May. “We don’t have a list of ‘X number of titles must be done in this year.’ None of that. The company has been very accommodating to our ambition around this, to grow this in a measured, thoughtful way.”

Layden added: “To be the first gaming entity to do something lasting and meaningful in a completely different medium is something I’d like to see us achieve here at PlayStation Productions.”