Netflix Announces BioShock Movie

Almost a decade after the first attempt was cancelled, it looks like we're finally getting a BioShock movie.

Netflix has confirmed that it is partnering with video game developer Take-Two Interactive - the company behind the iconic franchise - to develop an film adaptation of the series.

The streaming giant's announcement has been long anticipated by fans of the best-selling saga since Take-Two's first attempt at bringing BioShock to the big screen was canned back in 2013.

BioShock (Netflix/TakeTwo Interactive)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has been in the works for the past year, though little is currently known about the plans, with no director or screenwriter confirmed to be involved with the film.

Since its release in 2007, BioShock has gone on to become one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time, and has also spawned two sequels in 2010's BioShock 2 and 2013's BioShock Infinite.

For those not in the know, the FPS series takes place in the dystopian underwater city of Rapture, with the game's protagonist - Jack - attempting to fight his way past the iconic Big Daddies.

Critics have praised the survival horror, sci-fi and biopunk themes of the games, which have sold millions over copies over the last 14 years, with the original most recently released as a remastered edition on Nintendo Switch in 2020.

A film adaptation of the series was greenlit less than a year after BioShock's release, with Pirates of the Caribbean and The Ring director Gore Verbinski signed on to helm the production.

But after years of wrangling over storylines, budget and whether or not the film could be released under an R Rating, it was officially cancelled in March 2013, with Verbinski later revealing he received the news only two months before he was set to begin filming.

BioShock 2 (Alamy)

Since then, studios have pushed ahead with video game film adaptations to what we'll politely call mixed success. The latest attempt - an adaptation of Uncharted starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg - is set to be released this week.

For fans of BioShock hoping this adaptation will buck the trend of underwhelming gaming films, Netflix does actually have previous success in this area, most notably with The Witcher, which has become one of the platform's most popular TV series since its release in 2019.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]