PerhapsWarcraftcame as a big warning sign to Sony Pictures that audiences still aren’t ready to flock to video game adaptations. The studio has reportedly bumped its upcomingUnchartedmovie from their 2017 release slate. At this time, it sounds like the movie, which has long been sitting indevelopment hell, has yet again been delayed indefinitely.
Just over a month ago, it was announced thatdirector Joe Carnahan, perhaps best known for his Liam Neeson wolf thrillerThe Grey, had come aboard to write a new screenplay forUncharted. Now,ComingSoon.netclaims that Sony Pictures has decided it needs even more time to get the movie right. It was previously scheduled to hit theaters next summer, arriving on June 05, 2025.
That would have putUnchartedup against the hugely anticipated animated sequelDespicable Me 3, which is already certified to be a blockbuster if the past two movies and theMinionsspin-off are any indication. Also opening on this date isThe Housefrom New Line Cinema. The comedy stars Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, and revolves around a dad who convinces his friends to start an illegal casino in his neighbors' basement after he and his wife spend their daughter’s college fund.
Unchartedis based on the hugely popular video game adaptation Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune from Sony Interactive. The movie will be in the same vein asIndiana Joneswith a more modern twist, and follows a descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, a treasure hunter namedNate Drake, who is searching or the famed city of El Dorado. His race to find the city becomes quite intense when a rival treasure hunter enters the fray. As they scramble to uncover a golden treasure, they are relentlessly attacked by an army of monsters that are mutated descendants of Spaniards and Nazis.
Joe Carnahan is just the latest in a long line of very talented individuals who have attempted to bringUnchartedto the big screen.Seth Gordonwas previously set to direct before bailing on the project. Oscar nomineeDavid O. Russellfamously tried to get the movie off the ground for years with Mark Wahlberg set to play Nate Drake. Academy Award-winning writer Mark Boal, best known for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, also took his turn at trying to churn out a script. Doctor Strange’s Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were at one time involved. But it has never come to fruition.
WhileUncharted’s fate remains unclear, Video game movies have not fared well at the box office.Angry Birdsmanaged to become a hit, but it is the rare video game adaptation that is an animated family movie, pulling in $107.4 million domestic, $347 million worldwide. This summer’s live-action fantasy Warcraft proved to be a substantial bomb in the states, earning just $47.2 million in the U.S., though it became a hit overseas hit, especially in China, taking in $386.3 for a worldwide gross of $443.5 million. It’s being speculated that a sequel will be made for International audiences only, and won’t even open in the U.S.Resident Evilis one franchise that has fared well on the big screen, with its final installment set to open this January. We also haveAssassin’s Creedto look forward to this December, but even its parent company Ubisoft is predicting it won’t fare well at the box office, which isn’t good news.
