Back in November, after a misstep with Kyle Ward (Kane & Lynch), Columbia Pictures was in negotiations with the writing team of Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Conan) to pen the screenplay for their big-screen adaptation of the hit video game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

Now, Columbia Pictures has announced that David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) has signed on to write and direct the big-screen adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake.

President of Columbia Pictures, Matthew Tolmach said,

“David is a tremendous choice to take on this film. He’s equally adept at combining all the classic elements involved in this property: great character development, strong comedy, and amazing action sequences. He has a brilliant vision for this material and we know he will bring his original, unique voice to this adaptation.”

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is slated to hit theaters in 2012.