After spending several years approaching various writers, directors and actors and getting nowhere close to a completed film, Sony has decided to go in another new direction for the adaptation of video game series Uncharted. With Shawn Levy already attached to direct, the studio now has Tom Holland aboard to play a young Nathan Drake.
The new idea is to frame the story as a prequel to the games' normal timeline of an older Drake, taking its inspiration from a sequence in the third of Naughty Dog's titles that followed the character as a young thief and his first encounter with professional rogue Sullivan.
And following attempts by Joe Carnahan, David Guggenheim, David O. Russell and more to craft something, another writer will be brought in to develop the script afresh with Levy. If the first film ends up made – it feels like it finally could be, but with this hot potato, we're not counting any chickens – the studio is looking to launch a new franchise with Holland as the star. Clearly, the executives are enthused by what he's delivering in Spider-Man: Homecoming, though anyone who saw Captain America: Civil War knows he's a sound fit for Peter Parker and has charisma to spare.
Homecoming will be on our screens on 7 July, and Holland will also be seen in The Current War, arriving on 5 January next year. For more on the latest Spidey outing, and a fun chat with the other famous Tom Hollands out there, pick up the latest issue of Empire.