UNCHARTED is an action-packed adventure that will have everyone wishing they had decided to be archeologists instead of whatever profession it is they did choose. Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg deliver some fantastic comedic lines and bring fans of the blockbuster SONY PlayStation UNCHARTED video game series UNCHARTED movie Easter Eggs, Cameos, and Video Game References.
Tom Holland stars as Nathan Drake in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
This post contains spoilers for UNCHARTED. Stop reading now if you haven’t yet watched, UNCHARTED now in theatres.
UNCHARTED Easter Eggs, Cameos, and Video Game References
Flash-Forward Start
In the typical flash-forward storytelling style of UNCHARTED, we see Nathan Drake in a life-threatening situation, danging in mid-air and then his brother Samual Drake pulling Nate by the hand through the window of the orphanage so he doesn’t fall.
This is a callback to the UNCHARTED video games. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End both open with a flash-forward showing Nathan Drake in life-threatening situations: Uncharted 2 is a train crash sequence, and Uncharted 4 is a naval warfare scene.
Saint Francis’ Boy’s Home
In UNCHARTED video games, Samuel and Nathan Drake live in an orphanage after their mother’s suicide. The Saint Francis’ Boy’s Home is run by nuns. In the movie, we see during a flashback at the start of the film that the boys live in a Catholic orphanage.
Samuel Drake
We are introduced to Nathan’s brother Samuel Drake in the opening of UNCHARTED. In the video game franchise, we don’t meet Sam until Uncharted 4, however, their story arc is similar. Sam is presumed dead until he turns up in prison.
“Sic Parvis Magna”
“Sic Parvis Magna.” Greatness from small beginnings. That’s you and me. –Samuel Drake
Sic Parvis Magna is the Latin inscription on Sir Francis Drake’s ring in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
A clapboard on the set of Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
Drake Family Ring
When Nathan discovered Sir Francis Drake’s body in the Treasure Vault on his journey to El Dorado he left the Drake family ring with the former explorer’s dead body, stating that Drake “wasted his life.” Elena later returns the ring and explains that she took it because she thought that Nathan might miss it.
In Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Nathan uses his ring to solve puzzles as well as uncover information about his relation to Sir Francis Drake. In the movie, it’s merely a family treasure.
Elena Fisher
For fans of the video game, there is no Elena Fisher character in this film.
The Lighter
Nathan carries around a lighter from his brother, Sam. Sam gifted him the lighter the night he ran away from the orphanage when they were youths. In the video games, the lighter doesn’t make an appearance until Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and they use it to solve puzzles, but in the movie, Nathan uses it quite a bit for everything from conning a young girl in a bar to lighting a fire as a distraction in another bar.
UNCHARTED Font
The font used in the UNCHARTED video games is the same font used in the film to show the locations the characters end up.
Hey, Bartender!
Tom Holland and Antonio Banderas star in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. photo by: Clay Enos
Auction Heist
The La Cruz de la Hermandad Cross, the first half of The Cross of the Brotherhood seen in the auction in NYC, looks a lot like the Saint Dismas Cross in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
In both the film and the video game, the cross leads the pair to gold-filled ships inside a cave on an island.
In the movie, Sully dresses up as an employee to get past people at the party; in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Sam dressed as one of the auction house employees.
(l to r) Steven Waddington, Tati Gabrielle, and Pingi Moli star in Columbia Pictures UNCHARTED. photo by: Clay Enos
Jo Braddock
While Jo Braddock’s character is new to the film, her character is somewhat reminiscent of Nadine Ross from the UNCHARTED video games. In both, the characters were hired by the film’s main villains and introduced during the auction scene.
Sully’s Stache
Sully’s trademark mustache from the game franchise is noticeably missing from the movie. However, if you stick around for the post-credit scene, you’ll see that stache in action.
Tom Holland and Sophia Taylor Ali star in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
Chloe Frazer’s Red Dress
In the movie, when we first meet Chloe Frazer, she is wearing a red dress. This is a nod to her UNCHARTED video game outfit. which features a red shirt.
Cargo Plane Freefall
The epic scene with the cargo plane freefall is lifted right from Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Video game fans instantly knew where that scene was created from. The movie doesn’t match the video game exactly frame for frame, but it’s clearly the inspiration for the sequence.
Nolan North and Tom Holland on the set of Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
Nolan North Cameo
After Nate and Chloe escape the cargo plane, they wash up on the beach and walk by a tourist on the beach who says, “Something like that happened to me once,” is Nolan North, the man who voices Nathan Drake in the UNCHARTED video games.
Naughty Dog Sticker
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, there is a Naughty Dog Sticker on the inside of Nate’s suitcase when he looks for Sam’s postcards. Naughty Dog is the developer that created the PlayStation UNCHARTED video game franchise.
Nuns
Nathan sees a nun in a church when he is with Chloe and says, “Nuns. Why does it always have to be nuns?” This is a nod to the nuns who ran the orphanage he and Sam grew up in. It’s also a play on Indiana Jones’ famous line, “Snakes. Why does it always have to be snakes?” since the UNCHARTED video games are inspired by the Indiana Jones movies.
Sophia Taylor Ali and Tom Holland star in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
Nate Drops Another Indy Reference
While Nate and Chloe explore the crypt in Barcelona, Nate asks Chloe when she decided to become Indiana Jones. As mentioned above, Indiana Jones is an inspiration for the video game franchise.
Arrows
The arrows that shoot out of the altar in the chamber are like the arrows in the video game. Careful you don’t lose an eye or head with an arrow that comes shooting out of a hidden chamber as you are trying to open a secret door.
Tom Holland stars as Nathan Drake in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
Nate Driving a Speedboat
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End sees Nathan Drake driving a speedboat just like he does in the film as he heads toward the island where he will find the pirate ships in a cave.
Magellan’s Ships
The location of Magellan’s ships looks just like the pirate ships in the cave at the end of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED.
Classic Video Game Nathan Drake Look
After the fight on the pirate ships, Nathan picks up gun holsters and slings them around his neck, echoing the look Nate has in the UNCHARTED video games.
Dropping a Bag of Gold
In the final fight scene, Sully drops a bag of gold on Jo Braddock to save Nate’s life. In Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End video game, Nate drops treasure on the villain Rafe to kill him. Nate pocketed some gold for Sully, which is a nod to the game when Sam gave some treasure to Elena Fisher.
Sully Saves Nate
As the second ship sinks, Sully saves Nate from death by grabbing his hand in the same manner Sam does in the opening scene.
Sam in Prison
In the end credit, we see Sam Drake in a prison cell. This is a nod to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End when Sam was in a Panamanian prison in a partnership with a drug lord, and possibly a hint at a storyline for a sequel.
Hector Alcázar in the opening scene of Chapter 5 Uncharted 4.
Hector Alcázar
Before the camera pans left to reveal Sam in the end-credit scene, it lingers on the first prisoner for a moment, who looks like Hector Alcázar. Alcázar was a Panamanian drug lord that Sam claimed helped him escape from prison in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. However, in actuality, Sam’s release from prison was orchestrated by the game’s main villain, Rafe Adler; Sam never met Alcázar.
Gabriel Roman
In the same post-credit scene where we get to see Sully’s infamous stache, we also are introduced to a henchman named Gage who is not only obsessed with Drake’s family ring but also likes to drop obscure references: a reference to a WWII Nazi treasure map and his employer known as “Roman.”
Roman is a nod to Gabriel Roman, one of the villains from Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a game that involves a treasure map once controlled by the Nazis.
Nathan Drake’s Post-Credit Scene Shirt
The t-shirt Nate is wearing in the post-credit scene is a nod to Uncharted 3, in which a flashback sequence tells the story of how Nate and Sully first met: Nate was wearing the same shirt as he was wearing in the last scene of the film.
Sully’s Cigar
In the post-credit scene where we see Sully’s stache make an appearance, Nate throws Sully a cigar, which he is often seen smoking in the video games.
Antonio Banderas in Columbia Pictures’ UNCHARTED. Photo by: Clay Enos
About UNCHARTED
Street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate’s long-lost brother…but only if they can learn to work together.
RATED: PG-13 (violence/action, language)
RUNTIME: 96 mins.
DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer
SCREENPLAY: Rafe Lee Judkins and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway
WRITTEN BY: Rafe Lee Judkins and Jon Hanley Rosenberg & Mark D. Walker
BASED ON THE PLAYSTATION VIDEO GAME BY: NAUGHTY DOG
PRODUCERS: Charles Roven, Avi Arad, Alex Gartner, Ari Arad
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Ruben Fleischer, Robert J. Dohrmann, David Bernad, Tom Holland, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Neil Druckmann, Evan Wells, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
CAST: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, and Antonio Banderas
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