The 'Uncharted' Movie Should Still Include Nathan Fillion As Nathan Drake
Published
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: Sony
After years of false starts and over half a dozen directors, Sony's long-gestating Uncharted movie is finally in full swing. The first official still from the project was released yesterday, giving us our first look at Spider-Man actor Tom Holland as roguish treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
Am I confident the movie will be good? I can't possibly judge it from one single image, though I will say that Holland looks much more at home in the role that I imagined he would. Yes, he needs to tuck half of his shirt in, but for the most part, I'm excited to see what he does with the part - a part that actor Nolan North so effortlessly made his own over the course of four Uncharted games (and a handful of spinoffs).
Of course there are still those who don't think Sony's decision to cast Holland as a younger Nathan Drake was a good idea. Video game adaptations that think they're better off telling a completely new story are always risky, for one thing, but there's also the fact that Holland's casting was such a left-field choice that it's fair to say there isn't anyone who wanted to see him in the role. That's not a dig at Holland - I think he's an amazing actor who'll probably nail this and I can't wait to see him do so - but there isn't a single soul who had him on a live-action Nathan Drake wishlist.
Nathan Fillion, on the other hand, was at the top of almost every list. The Firefly star was born to play Nathan Drake on the big screen, and effortlessly embodies all of the charm, swagger, and vulnerability that North brought to the part in the games. If you needed proof, go and watch him in literally any of the shows or films he's appeared in. If you needed more proof, you can actually see him as Nathan Drake in a stunning fan movie on YouTube.
Obviously I'm not saying that Fillion should replace Holland, although I'm almost certain that some dweeb out there will start a Change.org petition to try and make that happen before the movie is even out. Sony obviously wants to start a movie franchise with Uncharted, and Holland is young enough and well-known enough to be the face of that action-heavy franchise for many, many years. But does that mean Fillion can't be a part of it?
I don't think so. We know that Holland is playing a younger Nathan Drake earlier in his "career", right? So what's stopping Sony from including Fillion as an older Drake during glances into the future? Heck, have the entire Tom Holland part of the Uncharted franchise be one big flashback in the style of The Hobbit, with Fillion's older and more experienced version of the treasure hunter appearing at the beginning and end.
The Uncharted games had no problem jumping around in time, and I don't think there's a fan of the series out there who wouldn't lose their mind if Fillion showed up at the start of the movie to break us in before giving way to Holland's younger incarnation. Yes, it runs the risk of feeling like an incredibly cheap way to keep the fans pleased, but there's a clear way to make his inclusion feel organic, all the same.
It'll never happen, of course, at least not in this first film. Whatever plans Sony have made are clearly already set in stone, and they're unlikely to include our boy Fillion. That doesn't mean I'll ever stop dreaming, though. Tom Holland will be fantastic, I've no doubt... but Nathan Fillion? Nathan Fillion was meant for Nathan Drake.
Hell, I'll take a TV series if you're listening Sony. Anything, really. Just give us some Fillion, please.
Topics: Feature, PlayStation, Uncharted, Naughty Dog
