Amy Hennig's Original Uncharted 4 Had Sam as the Villain, Former Naughty Dog Artist Reveals

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End shipped in 2016 as one of Naughty Dog's most acclaimed games, but the version players experienced was substantially different from what director Amy Hennig originally developed before leaving the studio in 2014.

In an exclusive interview for the Insider Gaming App, former Naughty Dog VFX artist Matt Radford offered a firsthand account of Hennig's vision. Radford joined Naughty Dog while Hennig was still directing Uncharted 4 in its early stages, giving him visibility into her approach to the story and characters.

The most significant difference involved Sam Drake, Nathan's older brother. In Hennig's version, Sam was positioned as the villain. "Amy's vision for the game that I saw didn't have the same characters, like Sam, and I mean Sam was in it, but he was not the same guy," Radford said. "It was like a very different, very different; like Sam was the villain."

The final game presents a different Sam. He returns to Nathan's life after years presumed dead and becomes a central character who draws Nathan back into treasure hunting. His characterization shifted during the transition when Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley took over development following Hennig's departure.

Radford also noted casting changes accompanying the character revision. "There was a bunch of differences: different actor, and that actor used to hang around Naughty Dog," he said. "The original guy they had cast, he was really nice, and he works with Amy still on the Star Wars game." Previous reporting identified Todd Stashwick as the original casting choice before Troy Baker assumed the role.

The scope of revision extended beyond Sam. When Radford first saw the project, it was in an extremely preliminary state. "I remember we built this green light demo for Uncharted 4 and it ran at like one FPS on like a PC," he recalled. "Like it was super early. It was just like crazy scrappy back then."

Despite the differences, Radford found merit in both versions. He acknowledged Hennig's early direction positively: "And Amy's vision seemed cool. Like, to be honest, it seemed cool." However, he recognized the final product's strength and avoided positioning the unreleased version as superior. "But then again, Uncharted 4 was amazing. So, you know, you can't kind of fault Neil and Bruce's vision because I loved that game and I loved the story they came up with."

Radford's memories of Hennig extended beyond story details. He described her approach to leadership and collaboration, noting her willingness to work alongside the team through demanding schedules. "She'd be up with us, pinging you at two in the morning, 'hey, what about this?', and I felt that she was a very vulnerable person who was willing to not kind of be above you," he said. "Even when I was objectively a nobody, I felt she was really human, really vulnerable in the way she would talk to me."

The revelation about Sam's antagonistic role aligns with earlier comments from Hennig herself. In 2019, she described the character's arc differently, explaining that Sam represented "an antagonistic force in Drake's life that he then had to reconcile" in her original conception, though she noted the core story remained intact.

Radford expressed hope for Hennig's future work in the industry. "I just want to see Amy have her comeback," he said. "You know, when are we going to get Amy's games? She's really talented." Hennig is currently developing Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, a project announced years earlier and still in development.