Oscar Winning Writer Mark Boal Working On Sony's UNCHARTED Movie And Chris Pratt Passes On Lead

THR is reporting that Sony has tasked Oscar winning screenwriter Mark Boal (Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) to pen the newest script for Sony's Uncharted film. The film is based on the wildly successful and immersive games. Sony owns the rights outright and have made a name by developing cinematic games thanks to developer Naughty Dog. They also have Sam Raimi developing an adaptation of The Last of Us. Boal is apparently a fan of the games, which isn't hard to imagine since it's a massive best seller.

David O'Russell was once attached to write and direct the film, with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. That whole deal broke-down and director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) stepped-in. Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, Lego Movie, Guardians of The Galaxy) had been offered the lead role, but passed on it. Wahlberg teaming-up with Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) on The Six Billion Dollar Man, likely means Mark is out as well. Pratt's Marvel and Jurassic World contracts could be the reason he passed on the film. He might be committed to a Guardians trilogy, the two Avengers: Infinity War films and Jurassic World sequels. That doesn't leave much room for an Uncharted trilogy for Sony.

SOURCE: THR

Sony Hires Original Game Writer To Pen THE LAST OF US Movie

It's starting to look like studios are going-for-broke when it comes to adapting video games to film. reports that Sony is looking to develop The Last of Us into a film, which just happens to be a Sony owned (developed by Naughty Dog) video game. TheWrap has news Sony's Screen Gems is aiming to distribute the film with Sam Raimi producing with his company Ghost House Pictures. Neil Druckmann, who wrote the game's story has been hired to pen the script. A second game is expected to be released in 2015, which might lead to a trilogy, similar to Uncharted.


This sounds like the best situation, as the Naughty Dog games have the most cinematic stories. Having another writer mangle the material seems like the worst idea, if the original story is solid. It's the second Naughty Dog produced game property the studio is developing, they're currently taking another-shot at making an Uncharted movie. Director Seth Gordon (War Games, Horrible Bosses, Identity Theft) recently made a deal to direct that action-adventure comedy. It will be interesting if Sony ends up hiring another director tailor-made for the horror thriller.

SOURCE: THEWRAP