Warning! SPOILERS for Uncharted ahead.
Uncharted director Ruben Fleischer has declined to say who plays the adult version of Sam Drake, who makes a cameo in the film's post-credits scene. Starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, Uncharted is inspired by the sprawling video game franchise of the same name, which is known for its cinematic action and epic set-pieces. Fleischer has already confirmed he has plans for a sequel, noting that the possibility of one coming to fruition depends entirely on the first film's box office performance.
Uncharted follows Nathan Drake (Holland) a young fortune-hunter who's taken under the wing of Victor "Sully" Sullivan to find the lost treasure of the Magellan expedition. Along the way, other characters from the games appear including Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) and a young Sam Drake (Ruby Pankow), brother of Nathan, whose teen version appears in several flashbacks throughout Uncharted's narrative. Drake's voice actor from the games, Nolan North, also makes a cameo appearance.
In an interview with Indiewire, Fleischer talks about the post-credits scenes of the film and how they set up potential sequels. In one of the two scenes, audiences see Sam locked in a prison cell in an unknown location, still sending postcards to Nathan. With Sam having been presumed dead the entire movie, the twist comes as a shocking reveal. And while audiences now know Sam is alive, his brother still remains in the dark. Fleischer declines to name the actor playing adult Sam in the scene, deliberately keeping it secret by saying “I’m not even sure he’s credited." Pankow is the only actor credited for playing Sam in the film and he only plays the young version.
Fleischer goes on to talk about the other post-credits scene in Uncharted, which introduces Sully's iconic mustache, which had been noticeably absent from Wahlberg's face throughout the film. The scene also includes a mention to "Roman," likely a reference to Gabriel Roman, the main antagonist of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first game in the series. Both easter eggs could point to the first game being adapted directly for the sequel.
Uncharted had such a lengthy production process (Wahlberg was originally tapped to play Drake) that a sequel will absolutely depend on the box office success of the first film. With a budget of $120 million, not to mention the cost of marketing, the film has a long way to go if it's going to fulfill its lofty ambitions of launching a franchise, especially with the first film's mixed critical reactions. Though Uncharted's opening day has surpassed expectations, only time will tell if the film will resonate enough with audiences to carry it through the coming weeks.
Source: Indiewire