Fansided

Fan film suggests Uncharted series could be first good video game adaptation

By David Rouben

AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE - "Finding Fillion" - In order to impress the other moms at school, Katie, Taylor and Oliver travel to New York to track down Nathan Fillion at a "Firefly" convention, so Katie can convince him to attend the school's spring gala, on an all-new episode of "American Housewife," airing WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (Michael Ansell/ABC via Getty Images)NATHAN FILLION
AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE - "Finding Fillion" - In order to impress the other moms at school, Katie, Taylor and Oliver travel to New York to track down Nathan Fillion at a "Firefly" convention, so Katie can convince him to attend the school's spring gala, on an all-new episode of "American Housewife," airing WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (Michael Ansell/ABC via Getty Images)NATHAN FILLION /
facebooktwitterreddit

The overwhelmingly positive reaction to the Uncharted fan film starring Nathan Fillion is proof that it should get picked up as a YouTube Premium series.

There are a number of reasons for why video game movies never work. The main reason being that someone else is taking the reins of the story and dictating how the main character must act rather than the player. But there are technical reasons, too, such as the fact the 10 hours you spend playing a game do not translate well to two hours on screen. And they always go big on budget to try and replicate the big action set pieces to no avail.

For years, people have thrown out Uncharted as a video game that could make for a good film adaptation. Right now, IMDb has a page for an Uncharted film starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Bryan Cranston in an unnamed role, although it would presumably be Sully.

Unless Holland ages several years in a short period of time, this sounds like a prequel about the adventures of Young Nathan Drake. It would be something different, but history suggests it won’t work out.

But what happens when you eschew the big budget, and and cast the roles with actors that are perfectly suited for them? Then you get this Uncharted fan film, made by Allan Ungar and starring Nathan Fillion:

Other than Nolan North, Fillion is the perfect actor to play Drake. It’s a role that combines the brawn he displayed in Firefly, and the brains in Castle. Stephen Lang was never an actor that people might have pictured as Sully, but it suits him. He barely has to change his portrayal of an old, uptight boss in Avatar, and he’s practically unrecognizable from the video game.

The reaction to the fan film has been noteworthy, since people are actually responding positively to a game adaptation. It’s not hard to imagine the director is fielding a ton of offers from studios to pick this up. But instead of a movie, a series would be the way to go.

The fan film looks like a scene ripped straight from the game, with a long cutscene at the beginning followed by an action set piece and a discovery of an ancient relic. Having too many of these scenes in a film would get old quickly, and would look mechanically awkward. If you space it out so that there’s one per episode in a 10-part series, then you’re cooking with gas. And of course, without a big budget, it doesn’t go overboard with the action. Everything looks grounded in reality.

Next: 15 Netflix Originals that deserve Stranger Things' budget

The actors are already set, although they’ll need to round out the cast, and there’s no need to switch platforms to Netflix or Amazon. After the overwhelming success that was Cobra Kai, more people are signing up for YouTube Premium.

The Uncharted series could even be similar to Cobra Kai — it’s based on a beloved series and it takes place after the original. What made Cobra Kai intriguing is that it offered a shift in the narrative by suggesting Daniel was the villain all along. Having that element could help push the Uncharted adaptation over the top. Fans of the game seem content for there to not be any more main series games after 4, but this live-action series could work well as a spiritual successor.

Uncharted is already one of the greatest video game series ever. It could become the greatest if it bucks the trend and winds up being the first good video game adaptation ever.