Sony has been trying to make a film based on Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series for the better part of a decade, with multiple directors and screenwriters joining and leaving the project. The latest attempt to turn adventurer Nathan Drake’s exploits into a blockbuster movie — this time, a prequel — has actor Tom Holland and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Real Steel) attached.
In the meantime, there’s a slick new fan film from director Allan Ungar that stars Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Destiny) as Drake. Fillion’s got the wisecracking, treasure hunting and maybe-getting-too-old-for-this-shit components of Drake’s character down for the 14-minute short, and his supporting live-action Sully and Elena aren’t too bad either. The action hews closely to the games, even if the bad guys go down with just one bullet each.
As the short film explicitly states, Ungar and Fillion’s short film is neither authorized or endorsed by Sony or Naughty Dog. It’s a passion project, according to its creators.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since Uncharted first came out in 2007,” Ungar said on Instagram. The Canadian writer-director specializes in action films, and has two features (Gridlocked, Tapped Out) to his credit.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do, but more importantly, something I’ve wanted to see for a long time,” Fillion said on Instagram. “If you’ve ever pinned a towel around your neck for a cape, or donned a fedora and nearly put your eye out with a homemade whip, this is for you. Thank you, [Allan Ungar], for letting us all scratch this itch. Thank you, [Naughty Dog], for creating such a wonderful archetype...”