BioShock captivated gamers 15 years ago with its incredibly detailed atmosphere and solid story, spawning several sequels and now a movie adaptation.
There seems to be a pattern with video game movies, and it’s not a pretty picture. Titles like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Assassin’s Creed have had directors taking a stab at film adaptations, but have dramatically fallen short.
Francis Lawrence is at the helm of the upcoming adaptation of the beloved game series, and he’s positive it won’t suffer the same fate as the other video game movies before him.
In an interview with Collider, Lawrence said: “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,” Lawrence added, which he believes can go the distance to separating it from other video game to film adaptations.
He believes BioShock’s amalgamation of different genres will help the title reign superior compared to other video game movies. “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,” he added.
Netflix seems to be giving its creators the reins, allowing them to mold the film in whatever way they prefer with minimal studio interference. “I certainly have not felt stifled in any way, or sent in any directions with Netflix.”
The BioShock adaptation hasn’t been handed a release date yet.
