Bioshock concept art – Picture: 2K Games
Netflix officially announced in 2022 that they were working on a movie adaptation of the video game franchise Bioshock with Vertigo Entertainment and 2K, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Now, two years on, we’ve had drips of information, so here’s everything you need to know about what you can expect from the upcoming adaptation.
Note: This preview was first published on February 15th, 2022, but has been updated to reflect changes in production or news. It was last updated on July 26th, 2024.
Rumors have been circling for quite some time that Netflix is getting its hand on a Bioshock adaptation, with both a series and movie being floated. A Bioshock project has been in development before. A project was previously set up at Sony Pictures with Michael De Luca Productions and Immersive Pictures producing. It’s also been previously set up at Universal and Blind Wink Productions.
Copyrights were registered early in 2022, and on February 15th, 2022, Netflix officially announced the project.
Bioshock – Picture: Netflix / 2K Games
Who is behind Bioshock on Netflix?
Vertigo Entertainment will be the main production company behind the movie. They’ve been behind movies such as It, The Lego Movie, and The Grudge.
For Netflix, Vertigo Entertainment has worked on Death Note, Extinction, The Mother starring Jennifer Lopez, and The Witch Boy and Reborn, a co-production with Fortis Films.
In August 2022, Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, I Am Legend, Netflix’s Slumberland) was announced to direct and produce the live-action adaptation of BioShock. Michael Green (Blue Eye Samurai, Logan) would write the screenplay.
Lawrence, Doug Davison (Abduction), and Roy Lee (Barbarian) will serve as producers, and Cameron MacConomy will serve as an executive producer.
CEO & Chairman of 2K, Strauss Zelnick, who will also serve as an executive producer on the movie, in a statement following the initial announcement, said:
“Netflix is among the best and most forward-thinking storytellers in all of entertainment today. We are thrilled that they share our vision and commitment to the BioShock franchise, which is beloved by millions of fans around the world. 2K’s Cloud Chamber studio is deep in active development on the next iteration of the series, and coupled with our partnership with Netflix, we remain highly confident that BioShock will continue to captivate and engage audiences like never before.”
Strauss Zelnick – Chairman and CEO, Take-Two Interactive & ZelnickMedia
Andrew Norman, who has been working for Netflix since 2017, is leading the charge within Netflix. His roster of projects he’s shepherded through to release include The Adam Project, Army of the Dead, and We Can Be Heroes. His upcoming title roster includes Gears of War and Kathryn Beigelow’s next yet-to-be-titled movie.
What is Bioshock?
If you need a quick overview of Bioshock, here’s a rundown.
First released in 2007, Bioshock is the critically acclaimed video game series led by Ken Levine. The game is set in an underwater city called Rapture. A sequel, released in 2010, takes place eight years after the events of the first game.
Bioshock Infinite was then subsequently released in 2013 and took place in a drastically different location in a flying city.
Here’s how the franchise is described:
“Set across multiple dystopian and visionary landscapes gone wrong, the series blends sci-fi and horror to pose unique existential and societal questions that reshaped how game stories could be told – all amidst pulse-pounding action gameplay that rewards sharp shooting, clever planning, and lethal improvisation.”
Bioshock Infinite – Picture: 2K Games
John Shirley wrote the 2011 book BioShock: Rapture, a prequel that details the construction of Rapture. We mention this because the book name is included among the copyright registrations by Netflix and 2K.
At the time of publishing, no indication was provided regarding which title Netflix is set to adapt or whether it’d be a brand-new story.
The franchise has been dormant since 2013, but that’s still due to change in the coming years. That’s because of an untitled sequel from Cloud Chamber Studios, a newly formed game studio with teams in California and Québec, is planning a fourth entry in the video game franchise. Kelley Gilmore leads the studio and continues to aggressively hiring for the follow-up, which does not have a release date.
Where is Netflix’s Bioshock in Production?
Since the project was first announced, work has been quietly underway, but we have gotten a few updates courtesy of interviews. We had heard that the project was being developed under the working title of Rapture.
In November 2023, Collider interviewed the then-Netflix head of film, Scott Stuber, about where the movie was in development and that the Hollywood strikes of 2023 had impacted development. Saying that they’re “waiting on the script,” but Stuber added that Bioshock and Gears of War were big plays for Netflix, adding that “The strike slowed us down quite a bit” and “I’d really like to push on.”
Stuber spoke about his project aspirations, saying, “There are huge audiences. As you know, that kind of medium they don’t always translate, 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.”
Of course, since that was all said, Stuber left the company, and Dan Lin took over.
In July 2024 (via Variety), Roy Lee and Francis Lawrence stated that ambitions for the film had been lowered and “reconfigured” with a lower budget. Citing changes within Netflix and lowered budgets across the board, Lee said, “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.”
Netflix isn’t the first to tackle a Bioshock Adaptation
As mentioned above, this isn’t Bioshock’s first attempt at making it over to the big screen.
A script for a Bioshock movie has been circulating for quite some time, with Univeral Pictures once upon a time developing a movie with Gore Verbinski (Rango, Pirates of the Caribbean) directing the project. It was canned in 2009, around eight weeks before production started.
Back in March 2020, Scott Wampler from Birth Movies Death managed to get to read the script and reflected on why it didn’t get made at the time. (This link is no longer live, sadly).
Bioshock is just one of several projects Netflix has adapting established video game franchises. Netflix is working on other significant adaptations, including Assassins Creed, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, and other Pokemon projects.
Are you excited about Netflix’s upcoming Bioshock movie adaptation? Let us know in the comments down below.
