Mark Wahlberg Will Star in Another Video Game Movie, This Time Maybe With Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci

Tim Grierson
·Editor
Leave the "Say hello to your mother" and "You talking to me?" jokes to yourself, please. KMazur/WireImage
Leave the "Say hello to your mother" and "You talking to me?" jokes to yourself, please. KMazur/WireImage

Maybe you were luckier than us and missed "Max Payne," the 2008 action film starring Mark Wahlberg based on the video game. Well, it was terrible and stupid and just no fun -- a film version of all the worst criticisms you hear about video games' dehumanizing, over-the-top violence. Undaunted, Wahlberg will hopefully have better luck with his second stab at a video-game-turned-movie project, recently committing to star in the adaptation of the PlayStation 3 franchise "Uncharted." Why should you care? Because it's going to be written and directed by David O. Russell -- and because Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci may star in it as well.

Wahlberg told MTV that Russell (who directed him in "Three Kings," "I Heart Huckabees" and the upcoming "The Fighter") is working on the "Uncharted" script, in which Wahlberg will play Nathan Drake, the game's Indiana Jones-like fortune hunter. "The idea that [Russell] has is just insane," said Wahlberg, who should know considering he was in "The Happening." He and Russell have put out feelers to De Niro and Pesci, who appeared together in Martin Scorsese's mob movies "Goodfellas" and "Casino." The idea is that De Niro would play Drake's father, while Pesci would be Drake's uncle, characters who don't appear in the "Uncharted" games.

Because Wahlberg's acting resume has its share of bad and/or odd choices, we're not shocked that he's doing this project. But the other three names are really surprising.

Russell is a very particular filmmaker who enjoys left-of-center material. (Even when he made a supposed war movie with "Three Kings," it was one of the most ironic and meta war movies ever.) He's never worked on a big-budget action film before, and we're curious what he'll do with a property that's exceptionally popular with gamers, which may not necessarily be his core audience.

As for De Niro and Pesci, we don't know yet if they'll say yes, but as Slash Film points out, Pesci has practically retired from acting since the end of the 1990s. And while you could question De Niro's acting choices of late -- and, really, you should -- "Uncharted" would be the first time he's worked with an honest-to-goodness auteur in forever. Honestly, the idea of those two signing up for this seems highly unlikely -- but then again, it's not any more unlikely than the idea of the director of "I Heart Huckabees" making a movie based on a video game.

Mark Wahlberg Confirms Starring Role in 'Uncharted' Movie [Multiplayer/MTV]
Mark Wahlberg to Star in David O. Russell's 'Uncharted'; Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci Sought for Roles [Slash Film]