According to What’s on Netflix, Uncharted, the film in which Tom Holland recreated some of the PlayStation series’ classic sequences, will be available on Netflix for US consumers on July 15th. While the picture has supposedly already been watched by a large number of people (it reportedly grossed over $400 million in theaters), this will be its first time on streaming.
If you’re debating whether or not to add it to your summer viewing list, I recommend reading my colleague’s glowing assessment to see how it holds up as a film (spoiler: about as well as those ancient buildings Nathan Drake is always destroying). I’ll also add that, as a lifelong Uncharted fan, it didn’t feel particularly necessary for the series, but my wife and a friend who had never played any of the games raved about it. What I’m saying is that your mileage may vary.
Uncharted will be available on Netflix owing to a contract struck between Sony Pictures and the streaming giant last year. After Disney, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. all indicated that the films they make will predominantly launch on their own streaming platforms, Netflix lost the option to host the streaming debut of a number of theatrical movies (Disney Plus, Peacock, and HBO Max, respectively.)
Sony was one of the few remaining big studios, and it agreed to re-release several of their films on the platform following their theatrical runs. Morbius, a bomb at the box office that was brought back to cinemas by continuous memeing just to flop again, is also part of the transaction. I’m sure Netflix is looking forward to it being morbin’ time (since it already has enough challenges to cope with).
Netflix will not be the only home for the slate of planned movies and series based on PlayStation titles, despite the contract and Uncharted’s impending release. While Sony is collaborating with Netflix on a Horizon Zero Dawn series, Twisted Metal will air on Peacock, and The Last of Us will premiere on HBO.
