Despite mentioning him several times, the trailer for the Uncharted movie keeps Nathan Drake's brother Sam hidden — but why? The full trailer for the prequel drops Sam's name a few times, indicating that he's involved in the film's narrative somehow. He's mentioned by both Sully and Nathan, with Sully alluding to his disappearance, hinting that finding Sam (as well as Magellan's lost treasure) will be at the center of Uncharted's narrative.
One of the things that the Uncharted movie trailer reveals is that Sully already knows Sam upon meeting Nathan, who is later heard saying that his brother has left behind clues to the treasure. Sam is a major character in Uncharted 4, which also adds context to Nathan's story, and now the elder Drake's important role in the Uncharted movie is evident from the numerous mentions of him in the trailer. However, Sam doesn't make an actual appearance, and that certainly seems significant.
With the sheer amount of Easter eggs and subtle nods to the games included in the trailer, Sam's absence is more than a little conspicuous — especially given his apparent importance to the prequel's plot. His name isn't used as a throwaway nod to the character — it seems that he directly influences the story, making it clear that the studio has a good reason to keep Sam hidden. Changes have already been made to Uncharted's timeline for the movie, so further narrative reimagining isn't out of the question — all of which points towards the fact that there's likely to be a surprise regarding Sam Drake upon the film's release.
The trailer seems to have drawn on Nathan and Sam's dysfunctional fraternal bond in Uncharted 4, depicting a Nathan that's willing to risk life and limb to rescue his brother — and that's not something that can be done if the character isn't present at all. The trailer points to a reunion between Nathan and his lost sibling, and the most likely reason that a face hasn't yet been put to the character is that it will be the film's big final act reveal, possibly in order to set up a franchise with another A-lister to appear alongside Holland and Wahlberg. It's been established that other Uncharted game characters will appear in the movie, with Chloe Frazer (Sophia Taylor Ali) making her appearance in the trailer, so including Sam's character without showing him would be an odd choice.
Of course, there's always the chance that this is a bit of sneaky misdirection from the studio. It could be that Sam Drake won't appear at all, and Uncharted will instead have him elude Nate and Sully in order to set up a sequel. This seems unlikely, though, as he's mentioned repeatedly in the trailer, and having him entirely absent from the film would make no sense whatsoever. However, no mention has been made anywhere online of who might be filling the role, which means that there either isn't a role for him in the film, or it's been kept incredibly quiet in order to shock the audience with a celebrity cameo. Given that Uncharted is a prequel to the games, the movie will most definitely leave things open for a sequel. This franchise potential means that not including Sam at all would be a wasted opportunity, especially after the trailer hints so heavily at his important role in Uncharted's narrative. The exact reason behind him remaining hidden isn't entirely clear, but it seems likely that sooner or later, Sam Drake will appear in an Uncharted movie.
