Netflix's BIOSHOCK Movie Will Be a "Much Smaller" Affair Than Previously Planned
A couple of years Netflix revealed that it was going to develop a film adaptation of the BioShock video game franchise, with Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) set to direct with Michael Green (Logan, A Haunting in Venice) writing the script.
We now have an update on the project from producer Roy Lee from Comic-Con, and the version of the move we get will be smaller than what was previously planned.
Netflix’s recent regime change, which saw Dan Lin replace Scott Stuber as its film chief, has resulted in lowered film budgets. As a result, this BioShock movie will be a “much smaller” affair.
Lee went on to say that the movie would be “be a more personal point of view, as opposed to a grander, big project.”
All I care about is that the movie tells a great story! I’m ok with going smaller, because a lot of the time when you go smaller, if forces the creative team to develop a stranger story to make up for the lack of scale and spectacle.
It’s one of the things where they will just need to work smarter with a lower budget and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Green has now offered an optimistic update on the status of the film during a previous interview: "Netflix has been amazing about it. They were excited about it before the strike, they're excited about it now, post-strike.
“Yes, I got called, the, 'How's it coming along?' the minute the strike was over, 'You about ready…?' Been meeting regularly with Francis Lawrence and his team to refine a draft to go back in.
“We're all optimistic. We all love it. It's a great big sprawling nightmare world we wanna see real. So, here's hoping. I would love to have an update for you soon."
Lawrence previously talked about how big of a fan he is of the video game franchise, calling it “one of the best games ever created.” He went on to say: “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.
“The sort of combo of real ideas and philosophies mixed with the unbelievable aesthetic of it. Plus, one of the other things that I love, love, love is that sort of strange mashup of genre, the idea that you have what feels like a period piece, mixed with body horror, mixed with sci-fi.
“It's one of those great mashups, and I think it can be really unique and really beautiful and really entertaining.”
The filmmaker goes on to talk about working with Netflix and how the creative freedom they’ve given him and how they are looking to stay true to the game: “There's always discussions about rating and tone.
“I don't want to get into it too much now because it's pretty early on in the process, but I certainly have not felt stifled in any way, or sent in any directions with Netflix.
“I mean, basically me and Cameron [MacConomy] who works with me, and Michael are getting to do what we want to do, which is great. A lot of it is staying really true to the game itself, and we're talking to Take-Two [Interactive] and Ken Levine”
BioShock is set in Rapture, a large underwater city planned and constructed in the 1940s by individualist business magnate Andrew Ryan, who wanted to create a utopia for society's elite to flourish outside of government control and "petty morality."
I really hope that they can pull this off and capture the story, spirit, and visual awesomeness of the game when making this movie.