'Uncharted' Loses Director Shawn Levy Who Departs For Ryan Reynolds' 'Free Guy'

‘Stranger Things’ director Shawn Levy has walked away from helming the film adaptation of the Naughtydog video game ‘Uncharted’ which has Tom Holland attached to star.  Levy will instead tackle another video game movie, the comedy ‘Free Guy’ starring Ryan Reynolds, which begins filming for 20th Century Fox in April.  Reynolds will star as a character who realizes he is a background character in a video game and must try to keep this reality from being shut down for good.

‘Free Guy’ was written by Matt Lieberman and Reynolds will be co-starring with ‘Killing Eve”s Jodie Comer who will play an avatar named Molotov Girl, who helps Reynolds’ character on his quest.  “In the real world, she is a mousy programmer who actually created the game but was devastated when it was stolen from her.”  Also cast are Lil Rey (‘Get Out’) who plays another NPC that doesn’t believe Reynolds’ character when he tries to convince him that their game is in danger.  Levy will also be directing his ‘Stranger Things’ star Joe Keery, who will play a programmer who may have a hidden agenda.

As for Sony’s ‘Uncharted’, the film will be based loosely on the game ‘Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception’, and will depict a young Nathan Drake (Holland) and his first encounter with his mentor Victor “Sully” Sullivan, who is rumored to be portrayed by Bryan Cranston.  This film has been in development for quite some time, with multiple writers and directors coming and going.  At one point, Nathan Fillion, who is a dead ringer for Nathan Drake, was attached to star, until Mark Wahlberg expressed interest and Fillion was dropped.  (F-you, Hollywood.)  At least Fillion starred in an unofficial “fan video.”  But after ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ became a smash, Sony imported its star, Holland to star in the film and retooled it into a prequel.

Sony is now seeking a new director for ‘Uncharted’.  At this point, neither ‘Free Guy’ nor ‘Uncharted’ has a release date, so check back for updates!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter