With the recent arrival of the Uncharted film trailer, we got to see Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg in action together as Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan for the first time, so here’s our breakdown of all the action. We’ll cover off each of the sequences, as well as the clues and historical information to give you as much detail as we possibly can before the release date next year.
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The trailer breakdown
Okay, so things start off with a series of quick cut shots and you’re like what the… but if you slow it down, or you pause it you can see that it’s Nathan holding a torch somewhere dark, Mark Wahlberg turning around and remembering that he forgot his bum cream, or something, and an old map of the world with a place in central Africa right at the centre.
AdvertisementIt’s then followed by a shot of Sophia Taylor Ali swimming up to the camera in a red bikini. It’s a scene that features twice in the trailer, so either director Ruben Fleischer missed this one – what-a-mistaka-to-make-a – or he’s just a big fan of clams. She’s carrying a watertight diving bag, so the other option is that it’s just a ridiculously important shot and what she’s carrying to the surface redefines the whole plot direction of the film.
You’ve then got “Nathan Drake should be dead already” scene 1 where’s he’s spinning wildly after falling from a helicopter, but that cuts quickly to him wading out into an ocean grotto where he’s probably found the lost ships of explorer Ferdinand Magellan – history note, Magellan did lose a ship, but in the trailer there are two of them side-by-side, so it’s possible that this is something different.
AdvertisementThe next section sees Nate exploring what looks like a Greek or Roman ruin with Taylor Ali’s character again, so clearly this is mid-way through the film after Sully has introduced the two. This is also where they find the map from the opening sequence, so it looks likely that the action is going to culminate in Africa – somewhere close to modern-day Uganda.
You’ve then got the first meeting between Sully and Nathan with Holland doing his best Tom Cruise in Cocktail impression and Mark Wahlberg styling it out for his James Bond audition. It’s also the start of the comedy dialogue between the two, which is clearly where a lot of the jokey jokes are going to come from.
AdvertisementThere’s then a scene from what appears to be later in the film where they’re looking at a bunch of historical charts and documents. This appears to be Sully’s place where he makes his plans for treasure hunts – a bit like Kenneth Kendall’s studio for Anneka Rice and her helicopter. Nate is interested in the map of Magellan’s circumnavigation around the world – historical side note, Magellan didn’t actually make it all the way around as he was cut down on the Island of Mectan as he was casually attacking the locals.
This section also contains a loud note and the slam of a book entitled The House of Moncada, which is a reference to the Spanish noble family of the same name, but we’ll come back to that later.
We then jump to the two main characters talking about the biggest treasure that’s never been found, which can make you assume that they’re talking about Magellan’s lost ship. However, we don’t think that’s the case. Instead, it’s likely a reference to another Portuguese ship called the Flor de la Mar, which went missing in 1511, around eight years before Magellan’s fleet set out on its historic circumnavigation. It’s reputed to contain the largest treasure to go missing at sea. Maybe the two ships side-by-side are the Flor de la Mar and Magellan’s Santiago, but the two went missing a long way away from eachother, so that seems unlikely.
There’s then a building plan being taped up on a window, which is probably the blueprint to the building you see the two of them in later in the Uncharted film trailer talking through earpieces. This cuts to a power boat scene, which shows Nathan heading to the treasure, which he appears to get to at 00:51, where he can be seen wading out of water wearing the same clothes he had on in the boat.
It then follows with Sully saying “if you find the gold, you find him too”, which kind of implies that there’s going to be more than just one treasure hunt in the film. It seems as though the treasure lost at sea is going to lead Nathan to more details about his brother, Sam, which in turn will lead to an even bigger mystery and treasure to go after.
The trailer then cuts to Barcelona with a drone view from the top of the Sagrada Famiglia Basilica, which appears to be where they meet Taylor Ali’s character, who appears to be set against Sully. You can also see Nate chasing her over the rooftops of Barcelona, so clearly they’re going to have a chase before they decide to work together.
AdvertisementIt’s around the halfway point that we finally meet Antonio Banderas’ villain character, who we think is the link to the House of Moncada. This could be his family who have been trying to retrieve the treasure of the Flor de la Mar for centuries. When Sully and Nate manage to get the jump on him things get a bit fisticuffs between the two parties as they continue to follow the threads of a bigger treasure hunt.
We then get the building sequence that the blueprints refer to. It appears as though there might be two distinct designs, but then this could just be different sections of the same building complex. Banderas then says that his family has been looking for the fortune for a very long time, which links back to the point about the House of Moncada. There are a couple more Nathan should be dead by now sequences with him spinning over a hand rail and swinging from some flimsy lights, but somehow he comes out unscathed.
Banderas warns Nathan off the treasure hunt, so clearly he’s on to their efforts and we get a curve ball from Taylor Ali, which questions Sully as his partner. You then see him fleeing the old ships and fighting an unseen enemy, so Banderas’ team of goons must intercept him as he locates the treasure, which continues with the goons walking out of a plane’s hull in an island chain that looks like its in the same location.
There more brother Sam talk with him leaving a final clue and you can see Nate using a lighter to reveal a message, which we think reads, “The numbers are yours to command”. This could refer to some kind of locking mechanism, which is teased in the next scene, although this could be a red herring to throw people off.
You then have the wait, what? Nathan survived that? But he really should be dead this time around plane sequence where he manages to defy gravity and jump like Spider-Man back into the open doors. We’re pretty sure that the cargo flying out of the back of the plane is the treasure taken from the boats.
On another note, there are a lot of sequences throughout the Uncharted film trailer which highlight the importance of the ring, which seems to be linked with Sam, so this could actually be the final clue with the numbers on it that Nate can command.
AdvertisementHe then faces off against against Banderas’ Scottish heavy, who says, “You should ne a come out ta play wi da big boys wee un, because you’re about to get a proper Scottish welcome”. The translation is, “You really shouldn’t have come out to play with the grown ups little man, because you’re about to get a proper Scottish welcome… by which I mean that I’m going to crush my forehead into your face repeatedly until you don’t know which way is up”. This appears to take place in the same building Nate meets Banderas in, so probably him getting caught trying to steel a clue or perhaps an important artifact like the cross you see earlier in the trailer, which is a key to a treasure chest that seems pretty important.
The Uncharted movie trailer closes out with little of note in terms of the story. Nathan and Taylor Ali look down a spider-web covered hallway with what looks like a secret entrance leading to it, Sully fighting one of Banderas’ gits, played by Tati Gabrielle, and then Nate taking a Mercedes to the gut and again somehow managing to survive. We last see him free-falling from the plane, but he probably lands on a Mortal Kombat spike field without a scratch on him.
Uncharted film trailer
And that’s it for our trailer breakdown. The film is due out in February 2022 and you can read more about the film with the links below.
You can also check out our movie news section to see the latest on other film releases, or visit the official Uncharted website at https://www.unchartedthegame.com/.
