After several failed attempts to adapt one of the best videogames of all time – BioShock – it looks like it may now finally be getting off the ground at Netflix. Director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games) and writer Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049) are currently in the middle of the script-writing stage, and Lawrence says it could possibly be the next film that he makes.
Speaking to Collider, Lawrence says; “Well, Michael Green, who wrote Blade Runner 2049, among other things, and who’s been a friend of mine for years, he’s writing it, and he’s in the middle of writing it right now. We already have our take, outline, and all that kind of stuff, so that’s all done. He’s now just actually writing. That’s why I said it’s a real possibility of [it] being what’s next [for me].”
Lawrence knows that the pressure is on to translate the complex themes of the game to the screen; “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.”
Lawrence continues; “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.”
While we wait for more news on BioShock, check out our guide to the best videogame movies.