BioShock has found its new director in Francis Lawrence, who directed most of The Hunger Games franchise save the first film. Lawrence is only one of the crew members announced to be working on the long-awaited film.
BioShock, the beloved video game franchise, originally arrived on the scene back in 2007. It was published by 2K, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The original game, titled simply BioShock, reached its 15th anniversary earlier this week. Fans have long been clamoring for a film adaptation, and the project has been on and off since 2011 when it was originally linked to Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski. It was not until Netflix acquired the rights that work progressed to its furthest point yet.
Netflix has now announced some of the crew who will be working on the BioShock film. Joining director Lawrence is Michael Green writing the screenplay. Green is known for working on films such as Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Death on the Nile. Producers for the project include Roy Lee for Vertigo Entertainment, Lawrence (pulling a double role, producing and directing), and 2K, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Executive producers include Cameron MacConomy and Strauss Zelnick for Take-Two Interactive. Zelnick's involvement likely means Take-Two Interactive will be playing a role in the creative development of the film since it is the company behind the video game series. Netflix specifically chose to highlight the action elements of the series, and the horror and sci-fi elements as well.
With BioShock 4 in active development, now is the perfect time to capitalize on BioShock's legacy. Fans are feeling nostalgic following the 15-year anniversary of the original game's release, and the film was supposedly originally being developed for release alongside BioShock Infinite. Now that the film is going ahead in production, it may be possible to release the movie alongside BioShock 4, ironically an act of synergy that was intended to happen nearly ten years ago now.
BioShock has long been thought to be one of the more cinematic video games out there, so adapting it to the big screen is really a no-brainer. The storyline for the video game is one of its most important aspects, and taking away the gameplay would make a coherent narrative on its own. Hopefully, Netflix chooses to be faithful to the game's plot and the world, but some fans doubt Netflix's fidelity to source materials, given a myriad number of changes they've made to various adaptations over the years.
Bioshock is in development at Netflix.
Source: Netflix