Easter Eggs You Missed In Uncharted
The "Uncharted" movie has finally arrived, bringing the action and adventure of the popular PlayStation video game franchise to the big screen. Starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor "Sully" Sullivan, "Uncharted" tells a story of thievery, globetrotting, and ancient treasure that's very similar to the spirit of the games, though it has received a much less positive critical response than its source material. Still, there are a number of fun Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the "Uncharted" film that might go unnoticed to those not super familiar with the games.
Adaptation can be challenging, especially when it comes to movies based on video games. It's a delicate balancing act of keeping enough things the same that preexisting fans will enjoy the end result, while altering it enough that it fits the new medium well. Fan service is a key piece of that equation, and "Uncharted" has a decent amount of it, from montages of Nate learning how to scurry up ropes and ledges and Sully constantly calling him "kid," to more specific references to the franchise's past.
Some of those references will be immediately recognizable to "Uncharted" diehards, while others are easy to miss if you aren't watching closely. Here are the biggest Easter eggs in the "Uncharted" movie that you might have missed and how they connect to the video games.
An opening homage to Uncharted 2 And 3
The first shot of "Uncharted" is a fade-in on Tom Holland's Nathan Drake dangling upside down from a cargo container flapping out the back of an in-flight airplane. It's a bold way to kick off the movie, and also a reference to two different games at the same time. The shot itself, which shows Nate trying to get his bearings in the middle of a dangerous situation after briefly blacking out, harkens back to the first scene of "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves," in which Nate wakes up in a wrecked train car hanging off the side of a cliff. In both cases, the action scene shown at the start ends up being a flash-forward set in the middle of the actual story.
That's a fun nod in itself, but the "Uncharted" movie twists the reference by placing it in a cargo plane — an allusion to a totally different action sequence from "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception." The film's midair battle is largely the same as the one in the game, and it's fun to see it loosely combined with the "Uncharted 2" train sequence at the start of the movie.
Ah, crap
Every debonair action hero has to have at least one recognizable catchphrase, and in the case of Nathan Drake, it's just two words — ah, crap. While simple, this brief expletive is uttered time and time again by Nate throughout the "Uncharted" games. Ancient machinery breaking down and falling on top of you? Crap. Just got double-crossed by your partner? Crap. Need something to shout dramatically as you leap from one crumbling ledge to another? Crap. As you can see, the versatility is nearly endless.
Holland's version of Drake gets to utter the character's signature cry a couple different times in the "Uncharted" film, and while it might just seem like a throwaway line to those who haven't played the games, it's a fun little Easter egg for those who have. Nate also gets a bit more colorful with his language from time to time in the movie, which is also very true to the video game version of the character.
Nathan Drake's origin story
Nathan Drake's origin story is eked out slowly over the four mainline "Uncharted" games, with many details not revealed until the events of "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End." A lot of those details show up in the movie as well, albeit with a few changes. As in the games, after a family tragedy, Nate and Sam end up living in a Catholic orphanage in Boston named for St. Francis — this happens after the death of their mother and disappearance of their father in the games, and the death of both parents in the movie. Sam, the older brother, ends up departing the orphanage before Nate is old enough, leaving him with a few mementos to remember him by.
The first item Sam gives Nate is an old ring with the Latin inscription "Sic Parvis Magna," which translates to "greatness from small beginnings." This is Nate's most treasured keepsake in the video games, though in the origins version of the story, he steals it from a museum rather than getting it from Sam. The other item Sam gives his brother is also from the games — his lighter. While less central to the franchise than the ring, it's still a fun Easter egg that pops up a lot in "Uncharted 4."
Nate's Naughty Dog sticker
The movie's biggest blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg comes relatively early on, after Sully first propositions Nate to help him find the lost treasure of Ferdinand Magellan. Back at his own place, Nate digs through a trunk full of mementos to find some old postcards from his brother, and as he lifts the lid, one of the faded stickers briefly spotted by the camera is revealed to be the Naughty Dog logo — the acclaimed game studio responsible for creating "Uncharted." Obviously, immense respect is due to the programmers, writers, artists, and everyone else who made the franchise a reality back in 2007, and sliding in the company logo is a fun way to acknowledge where the story and characters came from.
Coincidentally, one of Naughty Dog's other big gaming franchises, "The Last of Us," is being adapted for a TV series at HBO starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Given the cinematic nature of the developer's games, we might be seeing the Naughty Dog logo in live action a lot more going forward.
The auction heist
As proven by the opening cargo plane scene, "Uncharted" has no qualms about ripping entire sequences and story beats out of the video games. Nate and Sully's auction heist is another example of that. In "Uncharted 4," Nate, Sully, and Sam all sneak into a secret black market auction in Italy to steal — you guessed it — an old cross that's actually the key to a lost treasure. The movie moves the auction to New York City and ties its cross to Magellan (rather than "Uncharted 4" character Henry Avery), but the core beats are still incredibly similar.
Specifically, the actual bidding scene is basically pulled straight out of "Uncharted 4." In the game, Nate goes gallivanting all over the estate trying to figure out how to cut the power. His delays force Sully to bid against the game's main villain, Rafe Adler, to buy them time. During the whole scene, Rafe is accompanied by Nadine Ross — the leader of a mercenary team who serve as his main muscle throughout the game. The dynamic between Rafe and Nadine is strikingly similar to that between Antonio Banderas' Santiago Moncada and Tati Gabrielle's Jo Braddock in the movie, both of whom are also present and bid against Sully while Holland's Drake tries to turn off the lights. Even the red tuxedo jacket Sully steals from a waiter in the movie scene is pulled straight from "Uncharted 4," though Sam is the one to wear it there.
Familiar graphics
Characters, lines, and set pieces aren't the only ways "Uncharted" references the video games it's based on. In fact, there are a few Easter eggs in the film that are much subtler and stylistic. One example is the use of the familiar "Uncharted" font — faded, blocky lettering that evokes a sense of rediscovery — that spells out the franchise title in the games. The movie uses basically the same font for its various text overlays, including the names of places where Nate and Sully wind up. It's a nice touch that carries the look and feel of the games to the big screen in a small but impactful way.
Another similar graphical Easter egg in "Uncharted" is the use of an "Indiana Jones"-style plane-and-map visual to show how characters get from one place to another. This first pops up in "Uncharted" when Nate and Sully fly from New York to Barcelona — a trip that's represented by showing a plane flying over a map of the world, guided by a dashed red line. That particular motif is a famous part of the "Indiana Jones" franchise, and because the "Uncharted" games pull heavily from those movies, they too have similar variations on the map effect.
Indiana Jones
Speaking of "Indiana Jones," "Uncharted" pays tribute to the franchise's original Hollywood inspiration a few different times in addition to the map graphic. In Barcelona, for instance, Nate takes Sully and Chloe (Sophia Ali) to an old church where he believes Magellan's gold to be buried. When they enter the building, however, Nate is shaken by the sight of a nun inside, flashing him back to some less than happy memories of his childhood. "Nuns. Why's it always have to be nuns?" he says, clearly referencing Harrison Ford's famous "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?" line from "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Shortly thereafter, in an attempt to bond with Chloe, Nate asks her why she "decided to become Indiana Jones." This is obviously less of an Easter egg and more of an overt reference that nearly breaks the fourth wall. The revelation that Indiana Jones exists in the "Uncharted" universe (or at least the film universe) is funny and a little odd, but at least the movie doesn't try to hide the series' influences or pretend they don't exist.
So many double-crosses
In the "Uncharted" games, people betray each other a lot. And oh boy does that trend continue in the movie. There are numerous backstabs and double-crosses on all sides, and most of them harken back to the video games pretty overtly. Take, for instance, Chloe's betrayal of Nate and Sully after they discover the map to Magellan's treasure in Barcelona. She pulls a gun on Drake in a scene that's very reminiscent of a particular moment in "Uncharted 2," revealing that she was actually on Moncada's payroll all along. "Uncharted 2" is the first game Chloe appears in, and her role in that story is largely defined by the multiple times she changes sides. She's a character who always tries to end up on top, and that comes through quite well in the film.
Perhaps the more shocking betrayal in the "Uncharted" movie is when Braddock kills Moncada so she can claim all of Magellan's lost gold for herself. Since the whole crew works for her, this is a pretty simple task, and it references two different events from the games. At the end of "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," side villain Atoq Navarro tricks his boss — the apparent main antagonist up until that point — into a gruesome death, revealing that he was the mastermind all along. Braddock's treacherous turn also has some parallels with antihero Nadine Ross in "Uncharted 4," who ends up cutting off her obligation to Rafe before the dust settles.
The original Nathan Drake
Well before the theatrical release of "Uncharted," Nolan North — the man responsible for Nathan Drake's voice and performance capture in the video games — shared a picture of himself on set chatting with Tom Holland. The pic immediately sparked speculation that North could have a cameo in the film, which ultimately ended up being true. Those in the know will recognize him as the tourist lounging on the beach in the Philippines who remarks to Nate and Chloe that he, too, fell out of a plane once. Obviously, that line is referencing the events of "Uncharted 3." It's fun to see the two versions of Drake interact, and if anything, the film maybe could have benefitted from a little more Nolan North.
As a fun bonus, North's cameo is accompanied by a quiet reprise of the "Uncharted" games' theme music. The track from composer Greg Edmonson comes back again in the end credits, where it arguably makes more of an emotional impact than any of the film's original music does in the preceding two hours. Also, the shirt North wears in his cameo could be interpreted as a separate Easter egg in itself — a baseball tee-style shirt reminiscent of some that Nate wears in the games. It's unclear if that allusion is intentional, but given that Holland wears a similar shirt in the film's final post-credits sequence (more on that later), it seems like it might be an intentional reference.
Buried pirate ships
After nearly two hours of searching across the globe, Nate finally finds Magellan's lost gold aboard two pirate ships hidden in a cave. That particular setting is essentially the same as the final act of "Uncharted 4," when Nate and his wife Elena discover Henry Avery's lost ship hiding in a watery cavern on Turtle Island. In both cases, the ships are loaded down with treasure troves of gold, and they both end up eluding Nate's grasp, albeit in different ways.
In the game, Avery's ship gets set on fire and quickly burns to ashes with the cave itself collapsing on top of it. Nate and Rafe battle with pirate swords as the ship implodes, with our hero just barely making it out alive. In the movie, Braddock hauls the two ships out of the cave suspended from helicopters, leading to a taut airborne battle in which Nate once again employs the use of a rusty old sword. Though most of the treasure gets properly claimed by the government of the Philippines afterwards, Nate and Sully do make out with a bit of gold for themselves — a small victory that harkens back to a similar outcome in the first "Uncharted" game.
Classic character outfits
Like cartoon characters, video game characters tend to wear the same outfits a lot. As such, most famous characters like Nathan Drake and the rest of the "Uncharted" gang have pretty memorable looks, and many of those are represented in the movie in one form or another. Holland's version of Nate sports several different outfits throughout the film, and in the final battle aboard the flying ships he assembles a pretty spot-on replica of the character's game look — khaki cargo pants, a dull white Henley shirt with the sleeves pushed up, a brown shoulder holster for his handgun, and of course, Sir Francis Drake's ring on a string around his neck. The outfit is very accurate to the games, and it's a fun way to represent Nate fully becoming the treasure hunter fans know him as.
Later on, in the film's final post-credits scene, Nate also wears a white and red baseball shirt — another one of his classic looks from the games. And he isn't the only one to get some Easter egg costumes, either. When Chloe first enters the story in Barcelona, she's wearing a red outfit that's very reminiscent of her look from "Uncharted 2."
Sam Drake secretly dodges death
For most of "Uncharted," Sam Drake is merely a specter — a missing man presumed to be dead. However, in a scene tagged onto the end of the movie, it's revealed that he's actually alive, wasting away in a foreign prison. While the exact details of Sam's disappearance, apparent death, and imprisonment are altered a bit for the big screen, this is pretty much exactly what happens to the character in the video games. "Uncharted 4" shows how Sam and Nate sneak into a Panamanian prison to get a vital clue to a big treasure, only to be betrayed and forced to flee. In the escape attempt, Sam is shot, and Nate leaves him, believing him dead. Years later, it's revealed that Sam survived the bullet, and that he was thrown in a dark cell to rot.
If an "Uncharted 2" ever happens at Sony Pictures, it should be interesting to see how the revelation of Sam's survival will work its way into the plot. He may have a bone or two to pick with Wahlberg's Sully for leaving him behind on their quest for Magellan's treasure, which could cause some interesting tension. However, the film's final post-credits scene hints that a potential sequel could also go in a different direction — down the path of the first game in the series, "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune."
Gabriel Roman
The movie's post-credits scene shows Nate negotiating with an eyepatch-wearing man named Gage, played by "Game of Thrones" alum Pilou Asbæk. The two have agreed on a trade of Nate's ring for an old Nazi map, but gage quickly pulls a double-cross and demands both. The most interesting part of the scene for fans of the games is that Gage's boss is apparently named Roman. A character named Gabriel Roman — an old acquaintance of Sully's — is one of the main villains of the first "Uncharted" game. There's no way that's a coincidence, which means that Roman is being set up as an antagonist for the next movie, if one gets made. Additionally, the mention of a Nazi map is also a reference to the first game in the series, which involves a cursed treasure sought by the Nazis during World War II.
Perhaps the most exciting implication of these references is that they pave the way for the live-action debut of Elena Fisher, Nate's constant companion and eventual life partner in the games. In the canon of the games, Nate and Elena meet at the beginning of "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," and it's hard to imagine another movie being produced without Elena being a part of it.
Sully's post-credits glow up
The "Uncharted" post-credit scene also includes three fun Easter eggs for Sully — his mustache, his revolver, and a cigar. All three of those items are key parts of Sully's video game persona, and they are glaringly absent from most of the film. He's even wearing green in the shot, which is arguably his most frequently worn color throughout the franchise. It's fun to see Wahlberg's version of Sully finally completed with all the necessary accessories, but the scene also raises the question — why did it take him so long to get them?
For most of the movie, Sully doesn't look or feel much like his video game counterpart. Wahlberg is a fine actor, but the things that make Sully a colorful, distinct character — the cigar-chomping, the mustache, etc. — just aren't there. Saving them for a last-second reveal is somewhat understandable, but some additional flavor and personality earlier on could have gone a long way.