This 27-Year-Old Video Game Franchise Is Perfect For A Movie After Uncharted's $407M Success

Summary The success of the Uncharted movie could lead to an adaptation of Crash Bandicoot, another popular Naughty Dog game series.

Although Naughty Dog only developed the first four Crash games themselves, there is enough material for a successful movie adaptation.

The versatility of Naughty Dog stories is showcased by the success of The Last of Us adaptation, suggesting a Crash movie could succeed too.

With 2022's Uncharted movie bringing the game franchise to the big screen, there's another series from the same studio that would work really well if also adapted into a motion picture. Led by Tom Holland as Nathan "Nate" Drake, the Uncharted cast helped the movie become a box office smash, despite the drastic changes made to the source material. It may not have been one of the best video game movies of all time, but it was certainly profitable. Not only that, but its success has made Uncharted 2 an inevitability.

The Uncharted games were developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The studio is owned by Sony, which makes sense given that Sony also distributed the 2022 movie. Naughty Dog has worked on many games through the decades. As a result, they have plenty of IP that could work if given the adaptation treatment. Uncharted may have opened the door for Naughty Dog adaptations, but it wasn't the end, and there is still potential for so much more.

Related Uncharted: 10 Things The Movie Changed From The Games The live-action Uncharted movie retains many aspects from the games but also introduces its own elements, for better or for worse.

The Crash Bandicoot Franchise Would Make An Awesome Movie

Naughty Dog made the first 4 Crash games

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The first Crash Bandicoot game was released in 1996, with the inaugural installment sharing its name with the overall franchise. The game spawned many sequels and spinoffs, with the franchise even crossing over with Spyro in 2004. While there is some debate about which Crash games are part of the main canon, the original trilogy and the 2020 legacy sequel, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, create a solid narrative tetralogy. Given its chaotic nature, the story's genre can be easy to miss, but it's undeniably a compelling and lighthearted sci-fi saga that would translate brilliantly into a movie franchise.

The Crash universe is filled with a vast array of colorful characters, and as many lore-filled sequences as there are humorous moments.

The Crash universe is filled with a vast array of colorful characters, and as many lore-filled sequences as there are humorous moments. While the franchise may not be quite as popular as some of its competitors, it does have a passionate fan base. Also, the original trilogy was remastered and released as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy in 2017. Crash's 1999 take on Mario Kart was also overhauled and released as Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled in 2019. So, there is renewed interest in the series.

The Success Of Other Naughty Dog Adaptations Suggests Crash Bandicoot Would Do Well

Uncharted & The Last of Us both began as Naughty Dog stories

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Naughty Dog was only responsible for the first four Crash games, beginning with 1996's Crash Bandicoot and ending with 1999's Crash Team Racing. However, there is plenty of source material contained within these four installments from which a movie could be produced. If so, it could join the group of other adaptations of Naughty Dog games. As mentioned earlier, the Uncharted movie also began life as a Naughty Dog story, but there's one that has a slightly higher profile that also belongs in this category.

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Although it's at the other end of the tone spectrum, The Last of Us is another IP owned originating at Naughty Dog. Led by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the live-action adaptation of the zombie survival franchise has been wildly successful since it began in 2023. With one season under its belt and likely more than one more on the way, it's a sign that Naughty Dog stories are very versatile, even outside the gaming world.

Crash Bandicoot's Biggest Competitor Has Opened The Door For A Movie

An animated Crash movie could use the Mario movie as a loose framework

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2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is based on what is arguably the brand leader in the platform game genre. Beginning in 1985, the Mario game series has gone on to influence the creation of many of its competitors - including Crash Bandicoot. The Crash games are a little more high-concept than the Mario ones, but they share enough gameplay similarities that The Super Mario Bros. Movie's rampant success is a sign that a Crash Bandicoot film could be a triumph as well.

Related 10 Best TV Shows Based On Video Games, Ranked Video game adaptations rarely please hardcore fans, but there are a few outstanding shows which players have enjoyed as much as the games.

Mario has long been one of the world's biggest gaming franchises. Crash Bandicoot has dipped in and out of the zeitgeist, but a movie could change this. Just as the 2023 Mario movie introduced the main character and his world to a new generation of fans, the same could be true of a Crash Bandicoot film. The cartoonishness of the property would lend itself well to being enjoyed by younger viewers as well as fans of the source material also getting a nostalgia hit. The Uncharted movie achieved something similar for its games too, so there is a strong precedent.