Uncharted’s movie adaptation seemed to have done well at the box office, meaning that there are likely sequels being planned for some point in Sony’s future. Tom Holland will only look as youthful as he does for a short period of time, and while he is also supposedly returning for future Spider-Man sequels, he is a hot commodity as a young actor. It would be interesting to see Holland age with the role of Uncharted’s Nathan Drake in the movies, seeing him fully develop into the mid-30s Nate that fans are familiar with, but that should not be the only route Sony can take with Uncharted.
The Uncharted movie was an origin story for how Holland’s Nate and Mark Wahlberg’s Victor Sullivan would meet, but it also introduced the fan-favorite Chloe Frazer as well. Chloe was played by Sophia Ali, who perfectly represented the character’s charm, wit, and deception to a tee, leading to the movie’s most interesting moments with her on screen. If future Uncharted movies are indeed being planned, it is likely that Holland will return as their star, but much like how Joel was the backbone of The Last of Us, Uncharted can also move on past Nate as its own.
Uncharted Has Already Seen Enough of Nathan Drake
Nathan Drake is obviously a seminal character in Uncharted and the sole protagonist of all but one game in the franchise. Players have gotten to know Nate intimately in that time, and while his character development has not seen anything as radical as some other Naughty Dog characters, he is still beloved for his unwavering sarcasm and misguided confidence.
It is true that much of his childhood is still obscured aside from playable flashbacks in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but the Uncharted movie seemed to brush past that childhood and attempt to depict Holland’s portrayal as one of early adulthood instead. This means that subsequent movies would not be examining Nate’s childhood through anything other than flashbacks themselves, and therefore they may not be treading interesting or new ground that the games have not already covered.
Like Peter Parker, Uncharted's Nathan Drake is defined by romantic relationships with female characters, but it is them who deserve to have the limelight in Uncharted movies for a change, not the protagonist who has already been fully developed and given warm closure to bookend his grand adventures.
Uncharted’s Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross Deserve the Spotlight
It would be difficult now for Sony to suddenly pivot and remove Holland’s Nate from the franchise, but it would not necessarily need to, either. Spin-offs for the franchise could easily be how movies depict Chloe as the protagonist herself, especially now that she has been introduced as such a dominant character.
Chloe appears in multiple Uncharted games, though her own history and character development could be made much more interesting or prominent in movie adaptations that could excel past what the movies would be able to achieve with Nate. Likewise, Uncharted’s Nadine Ross would make a phenomenal foil to Chloe’s character, where both Lost Legacy protagonists could clash with one another and team up when situations become dire.
Indeed, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was an excellent course for the franchise to chart, even if it still had its obligatory ties to Uncharted 4 through the appearance of Sam Drake. In the Uncharted movies, however, Chloe and Nadine could potentially meet up with Elena to feature the female protagonists of Uncharted in their own renown.