The first official Uncharted movie trailer has revealed that Mark Wahlberg’s Victor “Sully” Sullivan is missing something very important – his mustache. Wahlberg stars alongside Tom Holland’s Nathan Drake, Sophia Taylor Ali’s Chloe Frazer, and a supporting cast that includes Antonio Banderas and Tati Gabrielle as two of the main villains. The Uncharted movie is scheduled to release in theaters on February 18, 2022.
A mustache might not seem like a terribly crucial detail to bring to the Uncharted movie from the video games, but in the case of Victor Sullivan, it is. Sully mustache is one of his defining features, along with his gruff tone, his love of the word “Goddamn,” and his penchant for chomping on cigars – none of which are present in the Uncharted movie’s first trailer. The absence is especially perplexing given that, during production, Wahlberg shared a video of himself sporting a very Sully-like 'stache – one that’s entirely gone in the trailer footage.
Why did the producers of Uncharted suddenly decide to remove Sully’s mustache – a mustache Wahlberg had already grown in preparation? There’s no clear answer. Perhaps the studio decided that it would be better to give the character in the Uncharted movie more visible separation from the video games, as a result of the other changes clearly being made. Sully also doesn’t smoke or even curse much in the trailer, hinting at a full overhaul of his character -something fans of the video games may not love. Or, maybe Wahlberg simply decided to shave it to give himself some more creative leeway with the character.
Because the Uncharted movie is a prequel to the first video game in the series, it’s natural to assume that Sully’s mustache-less face is due to him just being younger, but that explanation falls apart upon closer investigation. In flashback scenes in Uncharted 3 set when Nate is just 15, Sully still has the mustache, despite his full head of dark hair. In other words, there’s clear precedent for a younger Victor Sullivan to still have a mustache – precedent that the new Uncharted movie seems to be ignoring.
Hopefully, the removal of Sully’s signature mustache isn’t indicative of a larger disregard for the Uncharted video games. Unfortunately, it looks like it may be. The film is already retconning how and when Nate and Sully first met and the nature Sam Drake’s disappearance, making it clear that Holland’s Uncharted movie will not be in canon with the video games that birthed it. There’s still hope that Uncharted could deliver a great and entertaining film, but when it comes to loyalty to the source material, it’s not off to a great start.
