Netflix Bioshock Movie Gets Director and Script Update

Hollywood has been trying to make a film adaptation of 2007’s BioShock for almost as long as the game has been around. Netflix is the latest company attempting to bring the BioShock movie to the screen. Updates on the project have been rare, but director Francis Lawrence recently gave some insight into how the film is progressing.

Lawrence is currently promoting his upcoming film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. During an interview with GamesRadar+, the director shared that he is still working on a script for BioShock but that the team is pretty close. “I’m feeling really good about it,” Lawrence told GamesRadar+. Netflix announced Lawrence was attached to the project in 2022, and four years later, the script is almost complete.

Lawrence appears eager to make BioShock happen. “I would love to make it,” he said. “I’ve been like trying to. I’ve been working at it. I’ve been trying.” Work on the project was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2023, along with Lawrence’s commitment to Sunrise on the Reaping. With the latest Hunger Games film almost in theaters, Lawrence can refocus on BioShock.

Why has the BioShock movie been so hard to make?

Gore Verbinski was the first director attached to adapt the 2007 game almost immediately after its release. That iteration fell apart due to budget concerns and Verbinski’s desire for an R-rating. Horror director Guillermo del Toro revealed he also had calls about leading the project, which he described as some of the most disastrous calls he has ever had.

As one of the longest-running video game adaptations in development, BioShock remains a difficult challenge for Hollywood. Netflix may have better luck with the project now that Lawrence is free from Hunger Games duties.

Source: Polygon