Products You May Like
It’s been a long road for 2K Games’ BioShock to get that elusive film adaptation, but director Francis Lawrence believes he’s the one to do it. During a press tour for his upcoming film Slumberland, Lawrence chatted with Collider about the BioShock film being developed for Netflxi, and why he feels that the adaptation will succeed where other video game adaptations have fallen short.
As far as a status update on BioShock, the film’s script is currently being penned by Michael Green, who also wrote Blade Runner 2049. “We already have our take, outline, and all that kind of stuff, so that’s all done. [Michael]’s now just actually writing. That’s why I said it’s a real possibility of [it] being what’s next,” says Lawrence.
Lawrence goes on to praise the series, which is currently having its latest entry being developed by Cloud Chamber. Despite video game adaptations having a spotty track record with the move to film, he believes that BioShock can be a winner. “First of all, I think it’s one of the best games ever created. It’s also, I think, one of the most visually unique games ever created. The other thing, and one of the things that always appeals to me, is it is very thematic. There’s real ideas and philosophies underneath the game property, and it’s really, really, really thought out. A lot of games may have a great world of some kind, or they may have a great lead character, or they may tee you up for great set-pieces, but they don’t really have the ideas, they don’t have the kind of weight and the gravitas that Bioshock does.”
When asked about the perceived disconnect with what made games so good, and comparing that to their film adaptations, Lawrence says that while the games themselves are good, they don’t have a lot when it comes to actual ideas. “Sometimes they have a great aesthetic or something like that, but I feel like often they end up feeling empty because they’re not built from real ideas. The thing is, BioShock really is. The whole mythology of that world and the ideas behind it all, there’s just so much there.”
Meanwhile, Netflix had recently announced another long-awaited film adaptation for a video game series in Gears of War, with Dave Bautista showing interest in starring in the film.