Will Bradley Cooper Play Nathan Drake In Uncharted Movie?
Back in October 2011, around the release of Naughty Dog's "Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception", I declared that that there is only one man whom should get the part of Nathan Drake and that is Bradley Cooper. He has everything as an actor to be able to portray the part. The cockiness, the charm and the all round charisma to adapt and transfer the character onto the big screen.
Concerning the games, they are probably the best action-adventure games to have hit the market since the Tomb Raider franchise with treasure hunter Lara Croft at the helm. The numerous awards "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" (2009) won at the Spike Video Game Awards speak for themselves. But I was not so pleased last year to hear that "The Fighter" director David O. Russell was ready to emit a script with Mark Wahlberg as Drake. I haven't got anything against Wahlberg. He can do action. "Shooter" (2007) was a a relatively decent thriller. However I think Wahlberg would have had a problem in the role concerning personality and his voice in general. There are far better candidates out there for this role and luckily someone saw sense as both ended up leaving the project. The Nathan Drake doors flung open again both in the acting community and the fan-boy community.A massive amount of people desired to see "Serenity" (2005) actor Nathan Fillion take up the role. There was a strong online backing with a petition declaring that Fillion needed to be cast as Nathan Drake. He certainly looks like the video game character: There is potential, Fillion declared he is incredibly interested in the role and a strong fan backing could possibly persuade studio executives to give their man the part.
Towards the end of 2011 there was a report that "Limitless" (2011) director Neil Burger had signed up to bring the project to the big screen. It was ironic to say the least because the news was announced about two days after I managed to get round to watching "Limitless". Not only that but who plays the lead male role in the film? It looks like Cooper might just be in line to play him but Hollywood's unpredictability might cause a stir yet.
It is worth discussing just how an "Uncharted" screenplay will work. Fans of "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" will agree that it plays out more like a film than a video game. It manages to make seamless transitions between an interactive mode and a cinematic experience. If you walked into a room and took a quick glance at the game being played you would think you were watching a movie, it it really is that sharp. Most importantly, the game has characters we actually care about. When asked if the Naughty Dog team could create a movie, Amy Hennig stated in a 2009 interview with Vulture how the film would be easier to make than the game:
"We probably could . And honestly and Im sure Im being completely foolish to say so but in some ways I think it would be a lot easier. What we do is so complicated. People have made analogies before it's like you're trying to shoot a movie while inventing the movie camera. We have to write these game engines to make the game do what it does. An industry like film, where theres some new technologies but a lot of it is working in very familiar territory, theres a formula they can use. Whereas were right out on the bleeding edge."The "Uncharted" screenplay has the potential to go down two routes. It can either go down the "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" (1989) route, layered with characters we care about, relatively realistic and with physical action set pieces and a decent script concerning the plot. Or it can go down the CGI blockbuster, Jerry Bruckheimer route like "Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time" (2010), "National Treasure" (2007) and "Sahara" (2006). It is really that simple. The game already has the Bruckheimer blockbuster produced action and the "Indiana Jones" charisma. The problem is striking a balance with both, something many video game to big screen transitions fail to capitalise upon. If any video game has the potential to become a universally critical success it is the "Uncharted" franchise. It really is all down to those behind the scenes exploring the different approaches and tangents. If Columbia Pictures get it all right, we could possibly have the best action-adventure film on our hands from the past twenty five years. Starting with Bradley Cooper as Nathan Drake.
