After the success of The Witcher, Netflix is putting some cash behind another videogame adaptation. The dystopian videogame franchise Bioshock is getting a second chance at a cinematic universe via a partnership between Netflix and Take-Two Interactive, the game’s parent company. This deal has been in the works for almost a year.
The first-person shooter depicts Rapture, a crumbling underwater city broken up by civil war. Inhabitants of Rapture are addicted to a serum that gives them special powers from Little Sisters and live in fear of Big Daddies, massive diving-suited mutants who protect the Little Sisters. The highly political steampunk universe was a smash success upon its initial release in 2007, selling millions of copies.
Due to Bioshock’s immense popularity and combination of genres—horror, sci-fi and action all permeate the story-driven games—a feature project was set up almost immediately at Universal with Gore Verbinski set to direct, but budget and Verbinski’s desired R-rating sunk the project to the depths.
After Verbinski and the studio butted heads, the plug was pulled—even after Juan Carlos Fresnadillo attempted to take things over. Now, with Netflix financing the project, it might be possible that one of these former would-be filmmakers could go back down to Rapture.
No writers, filmmakers or actors have signed on at this time.