With David O’Russell having bailed on adapting the videogame Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the big screen, Sony has been rooting around for a replacement director, and according to Variety they’ve settled on Limitless helmer Neil Burger.
When O’Russell was on the project, Mark Wahlberg was firmly attached to the lead role, but as he had originally become interested because he wanted to work with The Fighter director again, his involvement is now in doubt. There were rumours that he’d completely dropped out, but it isn’t certain whether that’s the case.
Sony apparently nabbed Neil Burger because they were impressed with his fresh take on the original script, which was penned by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer. He could be a good choice, as the likes of The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones and Limitless have shown him to be an interesting director who could be on the verge of hitting the helming a-list, something he may now do with Uncharted.
Sony has high hopes that Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune will become a franchise tentpole for the company in the same vein as Indiana Jones. When it will go onto production though is far from clear.