With every passing week, we get closer to a number of tantalizing new projects coming to fruition and one of those is the Netflix adaptation of BioShock, the beloved alt-history science fiction video game. Video game adaptations are all the rage right now, which has led to heightened expectations, but that means getting bigger names on board too, including The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence.
Speaking with Collider‘s Steve Weintraub, at the grand reopening of the American Cinematheque at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood, Scott Stuber, Netflix‘s Head of Film, gave another note on the status of the film, which takes place in the fallen underwater city of Rapture. New news comes just three weeks after, Blade Runner 2049 screenwriter Michael Green gave an exciting update on the live-action adaptation of the acclaimed video game classic. Stuber shared:
“You know, Bio, we’re waiting on the script. So we’re in that kind of phase. The strike slowed us down quite a bit. That one and Gears of War, too, I’d really like to push on. I mean, Gears of War I was the producer on when I was a producer, so to bring it full circle has been great for me to get back together with the guys at Microsoft. So those are two really big ones that I feel aspirationally. There are huge audiences. As you know, that kind of medium, they don’t translate always, and historically, as an industry, we’ve screwed it up quite a bit. But both those have really rich worlds, have really good characters, so they’re very natural kind of transitions to screen and filmmaking.”
As Stuber shared, BioShock isn’t the only video game adaptation they’re working on—they have Gears of War in the works too. But how far along in the pre-production process are they? Well, when pressed about whether they have scripts for the projects yet, Stuber offered up, “We haven’t even got them.” He went on to say, “We’ve done long treatments. [T]here’s a lot of people that we wanna make sure feel good. Inevitably, when you’re making those, first and foremost, you gotta make sure the fan base is good, right? So you’re working with the creators, you’re working with the teams who make the games. We’ve worked out a lot of that, so now we’ve got great writers, and I feel like, hopefully, we’ll be on the road once we get those drafts.”
What Are the ‘BioShock’ Video Games About?
BioShock, released in 2007, enjoyed immediate critical acclaim. Set in an alternate history during the 1960s, the game’s narrative unfolds within the breathtaking underwater city of Rapture. This once-utopian society met a catastrophic downfall, with the player’s story gradually revealing the events leading to its collapse. Constructed in the 1940s by the industrialist Andrew Ryan, Rapture was conceived as a libertarian, objectivist utopia, fostering an environment where scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs could thrive free from the constraints of government or morality, all concealed beneath the ocean’s surface.
BioShock garnered praise for its moral choices, the far-reaching consequences of the player’s decisions in the game, the compelling graphic design, and the immersive atmosphere of the deteriorated Rapture. It also delved into profound questions of ethics and philosophy. The success of the game led to several sequels, establishing the franchise as a significant financial triumph—one that warrants a big-budget live-action adaptation.
via Collider