Tom Holland Already Has Fans Worried About The Uncharted Movie
While the long-awaited Uncharted movie might've once been everyone's favourite live-action video game outing, there are concerns we've simply waited too long for Nathan Drake's big screen debut to simply care. Despite an all-star cast of Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Banderas, some think Uncharted has overreached with its expectations, and we could have another Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia on our hands.
Hoping to cash in on the success of Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed franchise of the same name, Ruben Fleischer's Uncharted will be a prequel to games and chart the story of a young Holland's young Drake. Some form of Uncharted movie has been in the works since 2008, with Wahlberg himself once linked to play the title role.
In its latest form, Wahlberg will play Victor "Sully" Sullivan and serve as Nathan's mentor. Despite Holland's fan-favourite status in Hollywood thanks to his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it sounds like even he's not quite sold on Uncharted.
Why does Tom Holland have us worried for the Uncharted movie?
Speaking to GQ, Holland admitted he's made a "mistake" in his performance as Nathan Drake. Doubting himself, the young star said he was too preoccupied on whether he looked cool when he explained, "As soon as you start worrying about 'Do I look good in this shot?' acting becomes something other than playing a character.
"I think there are elements of my performance in Uncharted where I kind of fell under that spell of being 'I want to look good now. I want this to be my cool moment.' I had to play this very tough, very stoic guy – basically be Mark Wahlberg. My character is supposed to be a f*****g action hero in this moment!" While it sounds like a pretty damning verdict, he said that he hasn't seen it yet, so doesn't know if he's simply overthinking things.
Holland concluded, "Look, I haven't seen it, so I don't know if I succeeded in that. But it was an important lesson learned, because, at times, it was less about 'land a mark and go through this scene' and more about 'land a mark, stand like this and see my bulging biceps...'. It was a mistake and is something that I will probably never do again". Does this mean Uncharted is dead on arrival, or is it a backwards marketing ploy from the star?
Should we be worried about Tom Holland in the Uncharted movie?
At the end of the day, we're hoping it's just Holland being plagued by his inner saboteur. Big names being worried their performance isn't up to scratch is nothing new, and it's only natural that they might not think it's their best work. Also, let's be honest, Uncharted was hardly going to be winning any Oscars. Then again, it's not great that a movie's lead is effectively panning it before it's even released.
On the plus side, a strong cast and general hype surrounding a live-action Uncharted should serve the movie well. Even Uncharted's critics should be impressed that Fleischer is directing - especially considering he proved us all wrong with Venom. Looking at today's society of mixed bag video game movies, it could go either way. In 2018, the Alicia Vikander-led Tomb Raider polarised critics and only made $274.7 million (reportedly needing to make $275 million to break even). Despite this, a sequel is on the way, and there's a renewed interest in live-action video game adaptations.
From the success of Netflix's The Witcher to the record-breaking win of Detective Pikachu, video game movies and shows are all the rage right now. Alongside a live-action Resident Evil series and the all-star The Last of Us on HBO Max, live-action game adaptations are everywhere. Here's hoping Uncharted can chart the waters of success and won't be confined to the bargain bin of your local DVD sale. Only time will tell if this is just another of Tom Holland's signature trollings. Still, it seems like an odd way to try and promote a movie.
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