A movie adaptation of the popular game series BioShock has been in the works for a long time, and like a lot of film projects, it appears to be trapped in Development Hell. It remains to be seen how things will shake out with BioShock, but now its director has provided a positive-sounding update.
Francise Lawrence told GamesRadar that the team is “still working on a script,” but he believes, “We’re pretty close.” He added: “I’m feeling really good about it.”
Hollywood is littered with stories of filmmakers who are excited about projects, only to see them never materialize for countless reasons. That could happen for BioShock, too, but Lawrence is hopeful.
“Yeah, I would love to make it. I’ve been like dying to. I’ve been working at it. I’ve been trying,” he said.
A BioShock movie has been in development for more than a decade now, with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski originally tapped to direct for a theatrical release. He pushed for a big-budget, R-rated version, and the studio reportedly balked after Zach Snyder’s expensive Watchmen adaptation flopped.
Netflix announced in 2022 that it had taken over the BioShock movie project, but things didn’t go to plan. There was a regime change at Netflix, and producer Roy Lee said this resulted in the BioShock movie getting scaled back to become a more “personal” film.
The BioShock movie was supposed to happen years ago, but Lawrence had a full plate with 2025’s The Long Walk and this December’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. With that movie finished up, Lee said he thinks Lawrence could begin work on BioShock in 2027, though he acknowledged that anything can happen in Hollywood and plans may change.
Blade Runner 2049’s Michael Green and Terminator: Dark Fate’s Justin Rhodes are working on the script. There is no word yet on a cast.
Intriguingly, Lee said BioShock rights-owner Take-Two is “very anxious to see the movie come out” because the plan is for it to “coincide with some of the potential new incarnations of the game.”
Lee did not name any specific games outright, but Take-Two recently reiterated that the long-in-development BioShock 4 will see the light of day … some day. A remake of the original BioShock was reportedly in development, but was canceled in 2025.
As for the in-development BioShock 4, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick recently said the game is not dead and will come out “without question.” He offered this assurance to fans in the wake of BioShock 4 undergoing a partial overhaul to improve on key areas. Developer Cloud Chamber also suffered layoffs, with studio head Kelley Gilmore departing and former Diablo boss Rod Fergusson taking over. Some may recall how Ferguson was called in years ago to be a “closer” for BioShock Infinite to help get the game out the door.
