Even despite its mixed reception, Uncharted was a huge success at the box office, and Sony Pictures has now unveiled the Blu-Ray special features. And now the movie has been out long enough and the digital and physical releases are nearing, speculation about a sequel is growing.
There's enough source material to debate over where the story will go next, but the big question is over who will bring that story to life if Ruben Fleischer doesn't return to the director's chair. As the first movie wasn't appreciated by critics and wasn't all that liked by fans of the video game series, now is the perfect chance to find an inventive filmmaker who can truly bring the thrill of the games to the big screen.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg might be an obvious choice, as he's one of the most famous filmmakers in the world and general audiences know his name just as well as they know movies stars. But nobody directs family adventure better than Spielberg, and he'd know how to bring the huge action sequences of the video game to the big screen better than anybody.
On top of that, the video game series is indebted to the Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones, as Nathan Drake is essentially a modern-day version of the fedora-wearing archaeologist. And as the acclaimed filmmaker hasn't actually directed an adventure movie since 2011's The Adventures of Tintin, one of the most underrated Spielberg movies, Uncharted 2 could be the perfect return.
James Wan
James Wan is the ultimate director for hire working today. The filmmaker has such a huge personal interest in horror franchises like The Conjuring and Insidious, and he can just as easily hand in $200-million-budgeted four-quadrant blockbusters that make billions at the box office. He made a genuinely funny, exciting, and epic DCEU movie with Aquaman, and he directed the globe-trotting and most ambitious Fast and Furious movie ever with Furious 7.
Wan could easily apply his signature comedy action to Uncharted 2, and it'd put the comedy in the first movie to shame. The filmmaker's horror background could come in handy too, as there's a heavy amount of horror elements in some chapters of the video games.
Jaume Collet-Serra
There are two sides to Jaume Collet-Serra, as he knows how to direct slick and fast-paced action movies, such as Non-Stop and The Commuter, and he knows how to direct fun adventure flicks, such as Jungle Cruise. As Uncharted is an equal mix of those very two genres, Collet-Serra could be the perfect candidate for Uncharted 2.
However, the director seemingly currently has a great working relationship with Dwayne Johnson, as not only did he direct Jungle Cruise, but he's also at the helm of the upcoming DCEU movie, Black Adam. So it's unlikely that Collet-Serra will spearhead a movie without the former wrestler in the lead role. However, that could also mean that Johnson could appear in Uncharted 2 as Zoran Lazarevic, the iconic villain of Uncharted: Among Thieves. They have the same profile and it could work brilliantly.
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow doesn't seem to have much interest in directing large-scale blockbuster movies these days, as she has only been directing political thrillers and war dramas since 2008. But in the 1990s and 2000s, she was the queen of action blockbusters, and she always elevated narratives that sounded like simple popcorn flicks into something way more engaging.
But what makes Bigelow a more interesting candidate to helm the adventure sequel is the way she uses first-person perspectives in action sequences, with the most notable of them all being the chase scene in Point Break. As the video game series sees Drake hanging off castle ledges and being chased through outdoor Madagascan markets, Bigelow's signature first-person shots would fit so well with an Uncharted movie.
F. Gary Gray
Though the F. Gary Gray-directed Men In Black: International is far from the greatest movie in the world, it's the result of a screenplay that felt like a first draft. The action sequences in the movie are thrilling, just as they always have been throughout Gray's whole career.
The filmmaker has made a living out of directing huge action movies that take place in several different countries, including The Italian Job, The Fate of the Furious, and MIB: International, so the filmmaker knows how to shoot sprawling, globe-trotting action flicks well. But more than anything, Gray has a way of creating chemistry between his lead characters better than most other directors, and that's clear from his very first film, Friday. Warmer chemistry and concise action sequences in European cities are exactly what the Uncharted series needs to improve on.
Jeff Fowler
Jeff Fowler is currently riding high on the success of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and though it isn't saying much because there's such a low bar, it could very well be the greatest video game movie of all time. The film has so many references and Easter eggs to the original SEGA Genesis video games, and even though it's set on Earth, it's so faithful to the source material. That's something that Uncharted 2 desperately needs if the movie series wants to get on fans' good side.
While Uncharted is a perfectly fine adventure movie, it was heavily criticized for being completely unlike the video game series. Fowler would make a great Uncharted 2 director not just because he's made a couple of video game movies before, but because those movies captured what fans wanted to see while still changing things and introducing new elements.
Gore Verbinski
Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski has remained extremely quiet over the past few years, as his last movie was 2016's The Cure For Wellness. He has been attached to a couple of projects in that time, including the X-Men movie Gambit and an adaptation of another video game series, Bioshock. It's a shame they were canceled, as his sense of adventure would lend well to those series, but he and Uncharted are a much better pairing.
Though the pirate premise of the fourth game, A Thief's End, was lifted for the first movie, Verbinski is a match for the series for more than just the pirate connection. The filmmaker is known for his wide detailed shots, and while the shots in the first Uncharted movie are wide, they aren't very detailed. The director knows how to make scenes feel awe-inspiring, and generally, where Verbinski goes, music composer Hans Zimmer tends to follow, and a Zimmer-composed Uncharted 2 could make it that much more epic.
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis is one of the most prolific filmmakers working today, as he's directed over 20 major movies, including classic family adventure films like Back To the Future, Forrest Gump, and The Polar Express. Whether it's practical effects or digital effects, Zemeckis is ahead of the curve in both.
It'd be great to see the seasoned filmmaker return to the adventure genre and seamlessly blend together everything he's learned over the past 45 years, and there's no better project to do that with than Uncharted 2. Between being at the forefront of technology and appealing to both adults and children, he's is one of the best choices for the sequel, not to mention that Zemeckis' movies are box office hits.
James Cameron
Just as the Uncharted games have the best underwater mechanics, especially A Thief's End, it only makes sense that James Cameron should take a crack at the video game movie. Given that Cameron built a 40-foot water tank for The Abyss and is using advanced underwater motion capture technology for Avatar 2, there isn't a single director who could make Nathan Drake's underwater treasure hunting look more immersive.
Cameron has also made two of the greatest sequels of all time and they're arguably better than their predecessors, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. There is no limit to how ambitious the Titanic actor is, and though he has the rest of his career filled with Avatar sequels, James Cameron's Uncharted 2 might be the best movie never made.
Catherine Hardwicke
Director Catherine Hardwicke could give the sequel a bite and an edge to Uncharted 2 that was severely lacking in the first movie. The filmmaker has directed darker coming-of-age teen movies like Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, but she has also directed on a large scale too, as she was in the director's chair for the original Twilight movie.
Though Uncharted 2 might be a little darker than usual under the direction of Hardwicke, almost every blockbuster sequel goes in that darker direction. And as the third and fourth games used flashbacks to tell Nathan Drake's upbringing, Hardwicke would be the best choice for those sequences, as not many can depict teen angst better than her.