Director Dan Trachtenberg has exited the film adaptation project of Sony’s video game, Uncharted. While this counts as a big loss as the film is still held back from production, Tom Holland is still attached to star in the film as Nathan Drake.

Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, 2016) marks the third filmmaker to exit the adaptation. The lineup of directors that have come and gone include Seth Gordon (Baywatch, 2017), David O. Russel (Silver Linings Playbook, 2012) and Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, 2016). The film’s lengthy delay has gone on for years now. Levy left the film in late 2018 prior to Trachtenberg’s succession to helm the adaptation around a month later in January this year.

The film is based on the video game series of the same name, and Holland was cast for the lead role almost two years ago. It was previously announced for a late 2020 release date by Sony but the project’s debut is now treading in murky waters as the possibility of the release date’s push back may be inevitable. Uncharted has had a number of setbacks in pre-production with Trachtenberg’s exit as the latest to hit.

According to Deadline, producer Sony Pictures is already in talks with potential replacements to find a new director before fall. The project will reportedly start filming early next year. Speculations have been raised that, given the film’s reported production date, Uncharted will be ready for 2021’s summer blockbuster season. If so, it will have to go head to head against the likes of Indiana Jones 5, The Batman and Doctor Strange 2.