Summary
- Netflix's BioShock film faces budget challenges despite a major development, signaling a more personal, scaled-down approach.
- The journey of the BioShock adaptation has been tumultuous, with previous setbacks and changes in leadership.
- With accomplished talent like Francis Lawrence and Michael Green attached, the BioShock film shows promise in capturing the essence of the iconic video game.
The Netflix film adaptation of the universally acclaimed BioShock video game has received a major development since the project's announcement in 2022. The news further challenges the film's turbulent road to production, echoing the adaptation's complicated development history that stems from a different studio over a decade ago.
2K's BioShock franchise began with the release of 2007's BioShock and spawned two more entries in the form of 2010's BioShock 2 and 2013's BioShock Infinite, with a fourth game currently in development under incredibly high discretion. The inaugural title has been lauded for its presentation, threading its narrative with nuanced themes and melding elements from role-playing and survival horror games against the backdrop of the art deco-bathed underwater dystopia of Rapture. BioShock has often been cited as a prime example of how video games can be viewed as art, swiftly generating enough acclaim and notoriety to secure a major film adaptation. The latest update on the Netflix film offers insight as to where it stands in its labored odyssey to the big screen.
During his conversation at Collider's Producers on Producers panel at San Diego Comic-Con, BioShock film producer Roy Lee revealed that the film's budget has been scaled down due to a leadership shuffle within the streaming giant's film department. As reported by Variety, Lee said, "the new regime has lowered the budgets. So we’re doing a much smaller version... It’s going to be a more personal point of view, as opposed to a grander, big project.”
The BioShock adaptation's budget woes dates back to its earliest incarnation in the late 2000s, when Pirates of the Carribean director Gore Verbinski boarded the Universal-backed production as director. Verbinski stepped down from the role in 2009 after Universal downsized the production budget from $200 million to $80 million, and the following year, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, writer and director of 28 Weeks Later, was set to take over directing duties. After several more setbacks, the original BioShock game's director, Ken Levine, ultimately shelved the project in 2013, noting that the new director was a mismatch for the material. The film adaptation has since been dead in the water, until it was resuscitated with the announcement that Netflix would be producing the film with I Am Legend and The Hunger Games filmmaker Francis Lawrence directing from a script written by Logan and Blade Runner 2049 scribe Michael Green.
While the BioShock film still has much ground to cover until cameras begin rolling, the adaptation is off to a solid start with creative talent like Lawrence and Green attached. Given their previous body of work and the current golden age of video game adaptations, the BioShock film could shape up to be as electrifying as the original game's Electro Bolt Plasmid.
BioShock
2K Games' BioShock franchise instantly grabbed the player's attention when it began in 2007 by taking them on a memorable trip down to Rapture. The first two games took place in the iconic underwater city, while the third took players up to the gorgeous flying city of Columbia.
The critically-acclaimed FPS franchise is considered a spiritual successor to the System Shock series.
Source: Variety