Over the weekend it was announced that I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings director David O Russell is now set to helm an adaptation of the 2007 PlayStation 3 game Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (having reportedly left the production of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) at Columbia Pictures. The first draft of the screenplay has been written by 'Conan' scribes Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer and the director is now set to re-write it himself. Developed by the Santa Monica based games studio Naughty Dog as a Sony exclusive, the Uncharted' game follows the adventures of Nathan Drake, a pretty generic action hero character: a ruggedly handsome wisecracker and a rogue with a heart of gold. He is accompanied by a tenacious blonde journalist named Elena, who also serves as his love interest, as well as a morally dubious, scallywag best friend: Sully (basically Ray Winstones archetype character from 'Indy 4'). The first game, upon which it is believed this adaptation will be based, saw Nathan searching for the lost treasure of his 16th century ancestor Sir Francis Drake with the story taking him into the South American jungle and sending him into conflict with gun-toting, treasure hunting rivals. If it all sounds a little bit Indiana Jones so far then you wont be surprised to hear that the story also involves elements of the supernatural and even Nazis. It played like a Tomb Raider game, albeit with much nicer visuals and much better gunplay, and is considered a peak example of the genre being universally acclaimed by the gaming press. As someone who has played through both Uncharted games more than once I have mixed feelings about this news. It is true that, amongst the great mass of terrible video game stories and dialogue, this series is well written and entertaining. I remember playing through the first one and commenting to myself wow, this is just like a movie! But thats exactly the problem as I see it: Uncharted is quite conspicuously derivative of a certain type of adventure movie and it is one of those games that self-consciously try to ape the conventions of cinema. Doesnt that render the making of an Uncharted movie fairly redundant? Im not totally adverse to video game adaptation. More unique worlds, such as those in Halo (once set to be made by Peter Jackson) or BioShock (one time set to be made by Gore Verbinski), would be intriguing propositions. I would argue that the Uncharted experience works because of the solid gameplay, which is complemented by fun, serviceable storytelling. Robbed of the former is Uncharted especially interesting? Why not just make an adventure movie with an original story instead of raiding through the bins looking for franchises? And what of David O Russell: is he the best director to helm such an adventure? There is not yet any news about casting, although given that Russell has made three films starring Mark Wahlberg perhaps we could speculate that he is in the running to portray Nathan Drake? For my money, Firefly star Nathan Fillion would be perfect in that role: handsome and charming without being dull. I would just hope Drake isnt cast as a bland, inoffensive hunk as (to give the game its due) Drake is an interesting and likable character. If this is being conceived as a Channing Tatum or Sam Worthington vehicle then somebody pull the plug now. What are you thoughts on an Uncharted movie with David O Russell at the helm? Who would you cast as Nathan Drake? Is it worth adapting a video game into a film and is this possible without losing something in the process? And with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tarnishing the Indy name is Nathan Drake the next great hope of the tomb-raiding genre?We will be sure to post any news on this one as it develops but, with O'Russell set to direct 'Old St. Louis' in March (with Vince Vaughn and Chloe Moretz), don't expect to hear anything soon. Whatever my doubts I am highly curious about the whole thing and it could very well make an awesome film if done right. If it does well then I am certainly interested in an adaptation of the game's much stronger 2009 sequel (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) which has more varied locations and adds some interesting characters. If you havent played either of them, and own a PS3, then you should get on that today