Sony's Uncharted was released in 2022 and seemed to mix together many elements from the game franchise, with these changing elements revealing the perfect story for a sequel. Uncharted saw Tom Holland playing Nathan Drake, the game franchise's charismatic treasure hunter. The film introduced Nathan to Victor "Sully" Sullivan, played by Mark Wahlberg, establishing the first of many timeline changes from the games.
It quickly becomes clear that director Ruben Fleischer and Sony opted to make Uncharted an amalgamation of the different video games, combining aspects from across the franchise. These included things like the plane action sequence that was adapted from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and the final treasure being found on a derelict pirate ship like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. All of these made it clear that Uncharted wasn't adapting each game in sequence.
While this may have been a bit jarring to fans of the games at first, upon reflection these changes have revealed the perfect direction for the franchise to go next. One thing Uncharted set up was the history between Sully, Chloe, and Sam, Nathan's brother. This big change from the games reveals that the next installment of the franchise should actually be a prequel based on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, once again changing the game franchise's timeline.
Uncharted Established Sam's, Chloe's, and Sully's History
The main catalyst for Nathan ing up with Sully's quest in Uncharted involves Nathan Drake's brother, Sam. Sam and Sully once went after Magellan's treasure, a dream of Sam and Nate's since they were children. However, when working on the treasure, Sam mysteriously goes missing. Sully then seeks out Nathan, opting to kill two birds with one stone by finding Magellan's treasure and allowing Nate to find out what happened to his brother. However, it is revealed once Chloe Frazer s the quest that she, Sully, and Sam have some history. Chloe tells Nate that Sam was shot by Braddock, the mercenary hired to also find Magellan's gold, after which Sully narrowly escaped.
This history means that Chloe knew Sam before Nathan, something that is changed from the games. In the games, Chloe meets Nate early in his career, lining up with the age of Tom Holland's Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie, with the latter having already been separated from Sam. As Sam doesn't show up again until Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, it is obvious Chloe and Sam never met until after Uncharted 4 as shown in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. However, with Uncharted revealing that Chloe knew Sam, and worked with him alongside Sully, the appeal of a Lost Legacy prequel becomes clear.
The Lost Legacy Could Be A Part Of The Trio's Past
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy includes Sam Drake working with Chloe Frazer, meaning it would make sense to make the game's story a prequel to Uncharted, given how the latter has already switched the timeline of the games considerably. The main reason this makes sense is due to the fact that Sam and Chloe have already met in the Uncharted action franchise. The film series is clearly still willing to adapt parts of the game, albeit in a different order, proving that The Lost Legacy is the perfect story for a prequel to explore the history of Sam, Sully, and Chloe.
Much of the story of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is completely unrelated to the first four games in the series. This would make moving the story to be a prequel to the first film still make sense. It is only really Sam, and his relationship with Nadine Ross, that ties the spin-off game to the main franchise, meaning it would be fairly easy to rewrite the story in a way that fits the movie universe. As Sully and Sam were established to have worked together on the Magellan adventure before Sully and Nate, it could be written so that Sully, tying into Uncharted's ending, is also a part of The Lost Legacy's story.
The story sees Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross trying to find the legendary Tusk of Ganesh with the eventual help of Sam Drake, all while attempting to stop a warlord from igniting a civil war in India. It could be reshaped so that this quest is the first meeting of Sam and Chloe, who are put into by Sully. In doing so, the meeting of the three characters will be established, further fleshing out the backstory of Uncharted and filling in some of the character's pasts.
Sam Could Be Established Properly Before An Uncharted Sequel
With the ending of Uncharted setting up the appearance of Sam in a sequel, an adaptation of The Lost Legacy as a prequel would perfectly set up the character's appearance in Uncharted 2, after an actor for Sam is found. The ending of Uncharted seems to be borrowing elements from Uncharted 4, with Sam in prison. If the story of an Uncharted sequel followed Uncharted 4's opening of Sam getting out of prison to reunite with Nate, The Lost Legacy serving as a prequel could tie into how Sam became incarcerated in the first place. The Uncharted movie established that Sam was shot by Braddock, with Sully escaping. It isn't revealed how this came to be, or how Sam survived. However, The Lost Legacy would allow for both of these things to be shown.
The main bulk of an adaptation of The Lost Legacy should focus on Chloe and Nadine's story, given the focus of the two characters in the game. However, with Sam's part of the story, small hints could be placed throughout that Sam and Sully have a job lined up after the search for the Tusk of Ganesh, that being the Magellan job. The end of a Lost Legacy prequel could show Sam going off with Sully, before being shot and ending with how he managed to end up in prison, leading directly into an Uncharted sequel.
Also, having Sam be part of the quest of The Lost Legacy would establish him as a character so that and Uncharted sequel wouldn't have to spend too much time fleshing him out. Having The Lost Legacy introduce how Sam is as a person and a treasure hunter would only benefit his appearance alongside Nathan Drake in an Uncharted sequel. All of this, combined with further fleshing out Sony's new planned universe and the characters within it, make The Lost Legacy an ideal story to tell next, with a few minor timeline changes from the games.
The Lost Legacy's Story Is Underrated And Deserves An Adaptation
Finally, the main reason The Lost Legacy should be the next Uncharted installment is simply because of the game itself. While the game is much shorter than the mainline Uncharted games, it tells a worthy story with fantastic characters, making it even more perfect for a film adaptation. The story could be improved upon if the game was made into a prequel through the exploration of Chloe's character. As The Lost Legacy takes place after the other Uncharted videogames, with differences from the movie, it features Chloe developing into a much more selfless character, opting to help the people of India escape a civil war at the hands of a warlord as opposed to the more selfish version seen in her introduction in the video game franchise.
Chloe in the Uncharted movie is much more like the latter, betraying Nate and Sully at multiple points in order to further her own gains. However, it is established that it is mainly her distrust of Sully that makes her betray him, with her interactions with Nate hinting at the good parts of Chloe's personality. In making The Lost Legacy a prequel, the story of the game could allow for the film franchise to show the idealistic parts of Chloe, before her bad interactions with Sully, pre-mustache as shown by Mark Wahlberg, making her character much more complex than Uncharted suggests. Not only would the underrated character arc of Chloe be explored, but also the story itself. It features all the things that make Uncharted so likable, from the aforementioned character arcs, to the awe-inspiring treasure hunting and death-defying climbing, shooting, and fighting.
As it is seen as a spin-off of Uncharted, The Lost Legacy didn't necessarily receive the attention it deserved for being a great game in its own right. However, in making the game a prequel to Uncharted, not only could aspects of it be changed for the better and further the characters of the film universe, but it would be adapting a story that deserves to be seen on the big screen. Given how the Uncharted movie performed well at the box office, and Sony Chairman Tim Rothman subsequently labeled Uncharted as Sony's next film franchise, it is clear a sequel will be made. In The Lost Legacy, Sony has the ideal story needed to not only set up a sequel but tell a fantastic story set within the Uncharted universe and flesh out its already intriguing characters to further line up with their beloved game counterparts.
