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BioShock director confirms they’re “still working on it” but says its world is “tough to crack”
Director Francis Lawrence says the BioShock film is still in development and that the team is nearing a breakthrough, though adapting the game’s unusual world and story remains difficult. Netflix’s recent leadership changes may also complicate progress, leaving the film’s future uncertain despite Lawrence’s eagerness to make it.
Netflix announced the adaptation in 2022, and producer Roy Lee has said it will draw on the 2007 game. Netflix and publisher Take-Two are reportedly keen to coordinate its release with possible new versions of the game. The project has been reworked with a smaller budget, and the story centres on Rapture, an underwater art-deco society that has gone badly wrong.
In short
- Francis Lawrence says the BioShock film is still being developed.
- The team is nearing a breakthrough, but the story is difficult to adapt.
- Netflix changes and a smaller budget add uncertainty.
Explained simply
BioShock began as a 2007 video game set in Rapture, a city built beneath the sea as an ambitious social experiment. Its art-deco buildings and failed society give the story a distinctive setting that filmmakers need to translate to the screen.
Netflix announced a film adaptation in 2022, with Francis Lawrence directing and Roy Lee producing. The project involves Netflix and Take-Two, the company that publishes the game. Its progress matters to fans and to both companies, which have reportedly considered coordinating the film’s release with possible new versions of the game.