.

If you thought Sony Pictures’ big budget Uncharted movie due for release in June 2016 was not only too far away, but also the sole Uncharted movie in the pipeline – you are in for a treat. Iron Horse Cinema, who brought you the ‘fan made’ film of The Last of Us, are currently hard at work on an Uncharted movie, and they agreed to speak to All Things UNCHARTED. Sy Cody White is the Creative Director, and Craig Helfer is the screenwriter and producer.

Who is Iron Horse Cinema Productions?

Sy- Iron Horse Cinema Productions is a east coast, New York and NJ based production company. We’ve worked on many independent projects, commercials, and documentaries. Our first viral fan film success was from our three part Trilogy based on the video game The Last of Us, which was tweeted by the games creator Neil Druckmann. We love everything that has to do with games, films, and story telling.

If you want to check Iron Horse out, there are several places you can find them.

On the internet

On YouTube (If you haven’t seen their The Last of Us film, go and check it out!)

And on Twitter

Why Uncharted? What is it about the game(s) that makes you want to make a movie out of it?

Craig – Uncharted is the best thing to come out since Indiana Jones. The characters feel real and 3 dimensional. The stories are compelling. I absolutely love the banter between Drake and Sully. Elena and Chloe are both strong female characters which we don’t see that often in action adventure. The top-notch writing doesn’t hurt either. It has everything you want out of an action adventure story. Bottom line it’s fun. I wanted to write something that would be fun to make and fun to watch. For fans by fans always wins. Also, I’m tired of waiting for Hollywood to make an Uncharted movie that won’t suck…

I had a rough idea for an Uncharted short but it was just that an idea. I had just worked with Sy on the Last of Us Part 3 fan film and I loved working with him and Jeff so much that I vowed to work with them again on another project. I then pitched Sy an idea for an Uncharted fan film at an ADR session for The Last of Us. I wrote the first draft in a week, sent it to Sy and he liked it so much we began pre-production the same day.

Craig- The story is set years after Uncharted 3 but before Uncharted 4. The plot is similar to that of Uncharted 4 but instead of a lost treasure ship, Nate is looking for Blackbeard’s legendary treasure. And don’t think it’s just a treasure hunt because I did a crap ton of research on Blackbeard and his exploits to make it more than that. It’s a standalone project but you could stick it in with everything else that has come before and will come after. I also think that the villain will fit very nicely in the Uncharted universe because of his eccentricities and reasons for finding Blackbeard’s treasure.

Of course – I had to ask the most important question;

Craig- Our Nathan Drake is portrayed by the multi-talented, award winning actor Ed Trucco. I first met Ed on a feature film that I was the key grip on. I couldn’t put a finger on it but he reminded me of someone, so when me and Sy started casting it hit me, Ed reminds me of Nathan Drake just in his everyday personality. Ed had his gravitas and humour so he was a natural fit.

If you want to take a look at some of Ed Trucco’s work, his website is here or you could just take a gander at his demo reel that I have helpfully embedded…

For those that are similarly fed up with waiting for the Sony Pictures movie (it’ll have been about eight years in the offing when it finally arrives); do not despair. Iron Horse Cinema are midway through production and their movie will be with us in about a month or so. I can’t wait. If the quality of these screenshots is anything to go by I think it will look gorgeous.

I will leave you with this final quote from Craig;

I wanted to capture what makes the games great, which I think I achieved and with Sy’s amazing visual style it will have the epic cinematography and direction it deserves. One thing I hope is that the film will not only be regarded as a great fan film but a great film because I believe it’s possible to make great video game movies. It’s really not that hard just don’t screw with anything from the games, I didn’t.