11/24/2010

Mark Wahlberg to star in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune; De Niro, Pesci in early talks

Mark Wahlberg and director David O. Russell have almost built their careers together. It might've been Boogie Nights that put him on the map, but it was Russell's 1999 war flick Three Kings that cemented him as a bonafide star. Since then, the two have collaborted two more times, in 2004's I Heart Huckabees and in The Fighter, due out in just a couple of weeks. Russell just recently signed on to direct the big screen adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, bound to be the biggest most scrutinized project of his career. So who better for the director to call than his frequent running buddy?


Wahlberg has confirmed he'll be tackling the lead role of Nathan Drake, treasure seeker and supposed descendant of Sir Francis Drake. The video game version of Drake was modeled on the look and personality of Jackass's Johnny Knoxville, but to the best of my knowledge there was never any discussion of him being considered for the role.

As great as Wahlberg has been over the years, one thing he's never had is a franchise to call his own. This obviously changes things for him in a big way. Uncharted is going to be pushed as a potential tentpole for Columbia Pictures.

There's also been a rumor that David O. Russell was seriously courting Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for roles in the film, which Wahlberg also confirmed with MTV....

"That's who he wants to write the parts for. I talked to Pesci about it and I know David's people have talked to [Robert De Niro]."


"I'm obviously in whatever David wants to do but the idea of it is so off the charts: De Niro being my father, Pesci being my uncle. It's not going to be the watered-down version, that's for sure."

Seems like an odd film to reunite such a legendary duo. De Niro and Pesci haven't done a film together since Casino back in 1995, and Pesci in particular has only made five flicks total since then. One of those was Gone Fishin', which stunk so bad it should've been wrapped up in newspaper and thrown overboard.

Not having played any of the Uncharted games, it would appear that O. Russell would need to expand on that world in order to make a viable film franchise. By potentially adding De Niro and Pesci as Drake's relatives he seems to be moving in that direction already.