In 2022, Sony's PlayStation Productions brought us their first project: the "unknown" movie, a fully serviceable (but seriously wrongly cast) adaptation of their Burnstorming adventure franchise. 

At the 2024 CineEurope trade show earlier this week, Sony confirmed that the rumored sequel is in the works (as reported by Variety). No, there's no follow-up for the PS5 to travel another world to the Legacy of Thieves collection. Not yet..

Prior to the upcoming rom-com screening, "Fly Me to The Moon", Sony's president of international distribution Steven O'Dell gave an overview of the studio's upcoming title, and "Uncharted" is one of the many movies referenced

This announcement is not so surprising: Back on May 2, star Mark Wahlberg announced the next film. He told Screen Rant that he was told to "start growing a mustache" in preparation for his adventure. In addition, anyone who saw the first flick will know that it ruined the next adventure of Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and Sully.

The details about the "Unknown" sequel are pretty thin on the ground, but below, I've unpacked how the first movie was performed, how the first one was received, and what "Unknown 2" is. And why I'm worried that the sequel won't work. 

It entirely depends on the type of success you really measure, success. "Uncharted" was certainly not a box office flop; it resulted in over4400 million in box office versus the reported budget予算120 million budget. It also proved to be a popular streaming hit, as Uncharted managed to climb into Netflix's top 10 when it first hit the service.

However, if you are measuring success by receiving a movie. It did not receive everything warmly. On Rotten Tomatoes, "Uncharted" currently has a 40% critical rating, with more than 260 reviews. 

As an example of a more positive critical response, Empire's Nick De Semlyen described the film as "well-viewable, but could have been much better." Helen O'Hara, who wrote for Time Out, called it a "passable video game adaptation" and a "welcome break from a more serious action movie." 

The viewership is much higher (90%), but sifting through some of the more than 5,000 reactions, I saw similar complaints on my own take on the "unknown". Sure, the film was interesting enough, but it did not work too well as an adaptation.  

I was a bit of a franchise latecomer, but only appeared in the series in the Nathan Drake collection on PS4. But being a fan of the big adventure movies, I was completely down to see how Nate's adventures translate into the big screen. 

I remember watching a clearly "unknown" movie and thinking that the biggest sin of the movie was a failed adaptation. Taken as just an adventure movie lacking the "unknown" identity, I think the "Unknown" legitimately provides some big-screen thrills, even if they are just cribs from some of the game's standout action set pieces. 

The movie, for me, failed in the character department. Nathan Drake's version of Tom Holland is fine enough, and I think the sequel will give him enough room to grow into the cavalry adventurer we all know and love. But Mark Wahlberg's Sally didn't feel like Nate's beloved mentor at all. Their dynamic "unknown" works for adaptation, but I still don't get the feeling that they're still as thick as thieves, and they don't really feel like the same character I've grown into love with. 

Just a few years ago, "fine" was a description that movies and shows based on video games aspire to. But in the wake of projects like "Fallout," "Arcane," and "The Last Of Us," "fine" isn't going to cut it any more. We are now in an era where game adaptations know how to translate the tone and aesthetics of the game, and as the TV show has done, "Uncharted2" is a game that has been transformed from a naughty dog game.

Given that "Uncharted" details Nate and Sally's first gig together, we hope that the bonds they are properly sharing begin to materialize. In addition, there is certainly room to bring other characters to ground the action and bring more emotion to make the appropriate slice of the "Unknown 2" blockbuster fun. 

Even before we knew that the sequel was coming, we already had an idea of where things might go thanks to two post-credit scenes from the "unknown" movie

one of them showed us a disheveled-looking figure trapped in a cell and a dank-looking man. Took us inside the prison complex. We write out warnings on postcards, cut into their close-ups and told Nate to look at his back. They sign the postcard "S", which should be his brother, Sam, right. The same Sam, who is believed to have died in a shootout with the mercenary leader Joe Braddock 3 years before the events of the film. 

Sam Drake's whereabouts are certain to be considered in a sequel in some capacity; perhaps the film will help Shady individuals to help Sam escape prison

The second one sets Nate and Sally's next step. Nate is seen doing a deal with Gauge (Pilou Asbæk), a new character that works for someone called the "Romans" who is interested in the ring Nate wears as a necklace. The meeting goes south, but Sally (now a mustache) comes to Nate's aid. The pair stole Gage's map and returned from the building, but were stopped by an invisible person. 

Given namedrop, this Roman is likely to be Gabriel Roman, a British treasure collector who pursues Nate and Sally through the Amazon rainforest in search of El Dorado: Drake's Fortune. Perhaps our brave pair is looking for that mythical city in the "Unknown 2". You have to wait to find it.