It has been a tough week forTom Hollandand Sony Pictures, as Collider has confirmed thatDan Trachtenbergis the latest director to pull out of theUnchartedmovie, which he signed on to direct back in January.
Deadline reports that Sony is already closing in on a replacement and that Holland remains attached to star despite all the Spider-Man drama that has unfolded over the past 48 hours. The report didn’t include any names, but it wouldn’t shock me to see Sony turn to eitherTravis KnightorRupert Wyatt, both of whom were finalists for theVenom 2job that ultimately went toAndy Serkis.
Trachtenberg is coming off the pilot forThe Boys, which he directed for Sony TV. The Amazon series became a breakout hit this summer and was quickly renewed for a second season. Deadline didn’t mention why Trachtenberg pulled out of theUnchartedmovie, but insiders say he maintains a strong relationship with the studio, which may be trying to find something else for him. It’s just odd that he’s leaving, since it was understood thatUnchartedhad been a “dream job” for the filmmaker.
Meanwhile, Sony PlayStation Productions has boarded theUnchartedmovie, which will be the label’s first feature after it was set up on the Sony lot last year. Headed byAsad QizilbashandCarter Swan, PlayStation Productions has come on to produce alongsideChuck Roven,Alex GartnerAvi AradandAri Arad. Production is expected to start early next year.
Rafe JudkinsandIron ManscribesArt MarcumandMatt Hollowaywrote the script, which will followUnchartedprotagonist Nathan Drake as a young man who is just starting to turn into the famed treasure hunter from the beloved Naughty Dog video game series, which has sold over 41 million copies to date.
Sony had been riding high off the success ofSpider-Man: Far From Home, which recently passedSkyfallto become the studio’s highest grossing movie of all time, only to fail to extend its production agreement with Marvel Studios and its chief architect,Kevin Feige. Sony ultimately issued a public statement regarding their relationship, saying it was “disappointed” with how the split was characterized on social media.
Other filmmakers who nearly directed Uncharted includeSeth Gordon,Neil Burger,David O. RussellandShawn Levy, so Trachtenberg is hardly the first, and frankly, he may not be the last, either. Stay tuned…
