When I first heard that Uncharted was being made into a movie, I had my doubts that anything good could possibly come from it. After all, video game movies don’t exactly have a respectable track record—something like zero for twenty-five—and Uncharted, while excellent and enjoyable, was basically a modern-day Indiana Jones with more guns and monsters.

But then rumors of David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) directing the film came true, and suddenly I was genuinely excited to see Uncharted come to filmic fruition. While Russell has made a name for himself as a jerk on-set, he’s also proven himself to be a great, really weird (which just means ‘extra-great’ to me) filmmaker. Now, according to Showbiz 411, not only is he re-writing Uncharted’s story from scratch, but he’s also orchestrating a Robert De Niro/Joe Pesci reunion.

Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci have appeared in five movies together, some of them the best movies of the past thirty years: Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino (otherwise known as Goodfellas in Las Vegas), and De Niro’s own A Bronx Tale.

Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci Reuniting for Uncharted

Fans of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune wondering why De Niro and Pesci are reuniting in the adaptation of a story that doesn’t involve a couple of New York gangster-types—well, that’s because David O. Russel’s story is rumored to have “something to do with antiquities dealers in New York.” A far cry, plot-wise, from Nathan Drake scouring South American jungles in search of Sir Francis Drake’s long lost fortune, otherwise known as El Dorado. Then again, maybe the movie will begin in New York and find its way to South America. Possibly? Perhaps?

Honestly, I can’t say as I’m too bummed that Uncharted’s story has been overhauled. I much preferred Uncharted 2’s story, but even then, I felt like it was as interesting and enjoyable as it was because it came in the form of a video game. If I had watched those stories unfold on the big-screen first and foremost, I’m pretty sure my response would’ve been: Haven’t I seen this all before?

Additionally, much to the dismay of Nathan Fillion fans, Showbiz 411’s sources are indicating that Russell wants frequent collaborator Mark Wahlberg to play Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake—which would make sense, considering Wahlberg’s been in every single one of Russell’s feature films since Three Kings. But does Mark Wahlberg really want to try his hand at video game movies after the abysmal Max Payne? (Take this piece of news with a major grain of salt, as it would be easy for these "sources" to assume Wahlberg is playing Nathan Drake, rather than actually hear such things.)

David O. Russell’s The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, hits theaters December 10th, 2010.

Source: Showbiz 411