Tom Holland Cast As Nathan Drake From ‘Uncharted’ Just Weeks Before ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Premiere

Just when Tom Holland thought 2016 was the best year of his life, 2017 came around and swept him off his feet. Marvel’s newest Spider-Man has just been cast as Nathan Drake in the upcoming movie adaptation of the popular video game series Uncharted.

Last year, a relatively unknown Holland starred alongside big timers Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans in the box office smash Captain America: Civil War. Holland’s Spidey debut won over fans and filled them with much anticipation for his standalone film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, which debuts July 7.

The Uncharted video game franchise follows treasure hunters, namely Nathan Drake, as he and others find themselves getting into all sorts of trouble with other thieves during their conquests. There are currently five installments to the series, which is one of PlayStation’s and production company Naughty Dog’s most successful franchises.

Fans of the video game series might be perplexed with Tom’s casting, as he is much shorter and less bulky than the video game’s protagonist. Deadline reports that the film will follow a young Nathan Drake, aligning itself with the storyline from the game’s third installment, Drake’s Deception. The movie plot will be drawn from a sequence in the game where a young thieving Drake first encounters Victor “Sully” Sullivan, a fellow treasure hunter.

Uncharted 4 launched one year ago today! Thank you to our amazing fans for helping make Nathan Drake's final adventure truly unforgettable. pic.twitter.com/6M35ZOKcOI

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) May 10, 2017

There have been no casting rumors on Sully just yet, and other major characters from the game have yet to be announced. This flashback storyline is an extremely small part of Drake’s Deception, so the film’s writers definitely have their work cut out for them.

Plans for an Uncharted movie have been in the works for years, with names like Mark Wahlberg, Seth Rogen, David O. Russell, and Nathan Fillion rumored to be cast or directing the video game epic. As many movie deals in Hollywood often do, plans fell through time after time, but now things are finally being set in stone.

The Uncharted film will be a Sony Pictures Production, with chairman Tom Rothman behind Holland’s casting. Rothman was impressed with Tom’s performance in Spider-Man: Homecoming that he completely changed the direction of Uncharted to guarantee Holland as the lead. The film was originally going to follow the Nathan Drake fans are most accustomed to — a middle-aged treasure hunter and iconic action hero. Sony is also behind Homecoming in a joint venture with Marvel Studios.

It’s likely Uncharted will become a franchise with plenty of stories to be drawn from the numerous video game installments. This would be the second franchise for Holland, both of which fall under Sony.

Acclaimed director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, This Is Where I Leave You) will take the helm of Uncharted, with the search for the perfect writer underway. Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) was behind the script for the first Uncharted concept and has been nixed since a new direction has taken place.

Holland’s first role was in The Impossible alongside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in 2012. It was clear from the start he would be a Hollywood force to be reckoned with and has received major castings since.

In 2015, he starred with fellow Marvel superhero Chris Hemsworth in the underwhelming In the Heart of the Sea. As fans will recall, 2016 was a bigger year for the 20-year-old, as Tom nabbed parts in Captain America: Civil War, Edge of Winter, and The Lost City of Z.

Holland’s upcoming superhero flicks include Avengers: Infinity War and an untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel. Tom will also star alongside the star-studded cast comprised of Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicholas Hoult, and Michael Shannon in the highly anticipated The Current War, which will debut later this year.

With Uncharted in the early stages of pre-production, no release date has been set.

[Featured Image by Rich Fury/Getty Images]