Video game adaptations are very difficult, actually, make that near impossible to get right. Tons of studios have tried and failed and even projects that seemed like they had lots of potential (we’re looking at you, Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed) ended up being pretty big disappointments. That’s why we’re quite surprised that BioShock, a video game series that truly does seem perfectly suited for a silver screen adaptation, has never made it to cinemas.
It’s certainly not for a lack of trying, mind you. Back in 2008, Gore Verbinski was hoping to get a movie based on the property off the ground but budget concerns prevented Universe from pushing forward with it. Fans were understandably crushed and ever since, there’s been no real updates on where the project is currently at. Though presumably, it’s stuck in development hell if not outright cancelled.
That being said, it’s easy to imagine a monetary environment in which a BioShock movie would emerge and Greg Russo might just be the man to make it happen. The writer behind the upcoming Mortal Kombat film, which has a lot of strong buzz surrounding it, says that he’d love to find a way to bring BioShock to the big screen, telling ComicBook.com the following:
“I would love to figure out a way to do BioShock and I’ve tried,” said Russo. “I’ve been like elbowing everybody I can possibly find, because I think I have a really awesome way to do it that would be really fun. And bring the horror of it to the forefront and hopefully keep the budget at a manageable price. But yeah, that’s one that I’d absolutely adore, that be a lot of fun to work on.”
This is certainly encouraging to hear and with any luck, Russo will get his way. After all, like we said above, BioShock is an intellectual property that’s ripe for translating to film. The immersive universe it’s set in is filled with a unique sense of depth and the storyline from the original game, in particular, was truly fantastic.
That being said, Russo will first have to prove himself with the Mortal Kombat movie before anyone gives him a shot at adapting BioShock. But whether it’s him or someone else, let’s just hope the project emerges from development hell soon enough, as we really do believe it could be the first great video game adaptation (sorry, Detective Pikachu).