Why the Bioshock movie was pulled

News Simon Brew 13 Mar 2013 - 07:10

The creative director of Bioshock developer Irrational Games reveals why he stopped the movie adaptation from happening.

With Bioshock Infinite moving closer to release - the eagerly awaited videogame sequel is due in a week or two - the creative director of developer Irrational Games has revealed that he's the one who pulled the plug on the planned Bioshock movie.

The film had been in development some years ago, with Gore Verbinski (Rango, Pirates Of The Caribbean) nurturing the project. As Levine told Eurogamer, "my theory is that Gore wanted to make a hard R film, then Watchmen came out and it didn't do well for whatever reason. The studio then got cold feet about making an R rated $200m film, and they said if it was an $80m film...". The problem? "Gore didn't want to make an $80m film".

As such, Verbinski left the project, and another director was brought in, "and I didn't really see the match there", admitted Levine. "And 2K's one of these companies that puts a lot of creative trust in people. So they said if you want to kill it, kill it. And I killed it".

While Levine doesn't write off the chances of a Bioshock film happening completely, he does say that "it'd have to be the right combination of people".

It's not the kind of project either that could scale down to a softer rating. A good chunk of the games is spent injecting yourself with 'upgrades', and there's the small matter of the pretty terrifying Little Sisters too. Ratings boards aren't likely to give the film much shrift there. Our guess? The Bioshock movie is destined never to happen, but at least it's for the right reasons.

The full interview can be found here. It's well worth a read.

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The man talks sense.

Imagine how good Hollywood would be if all producers thought like him?

It would have to address the obvious question which the game doesn't answer; what is the point of an underwater city?

As Walter Bishop would say "Because it's cool"

Just like bow ties and fezzes.

Good movies? Yes. Well off financially? Not so much. If so, Michael Bay would be asking you if you want fries with your meal.

It answers it pretty much straight away, it was for the rich and powerful to get away from all the poor and less well off on the surface...

You played the game fool?!

Why isnt it going ahead? Because it would have cost about 60000 million to do it properly, thats why, and it would have been crap, half baked attempt that would have bomber, or it would have been so watered down (hehehe) it would be un recognisable...

Its not as if Hit Man or Tomb Raider etc ever had much success as films either....

I know the Final Fantasy animated film didn't go over as well as it could have, but does that shut the door forever on animated movies about games? Like the Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat movies justified live action versions. ;)

Why not just take the script I'm assuming you already have, all the existing game environments, bring in some professional character animators and film editors, and just make the damn movie already? Does it have to be the Doom movie all over again, or can we try something different, something that could be very interesting, and that you could probably get done for MUCH less than $80 million?

Think about it, goofballs.

Wow, name-calling. What are you, 14? That's the great thing about the Internet though, you can say dumb stuff to people without having your head bounced on a pavement.

That was hardly name calling, you asked a foolish question, thus earning yourself the title 'fool'.

HA! No mate, tad older than that, but I ain't the one making dumb threats over the glorious Internet.
Grow up y'sad git.

So, Hollywood has still not yet realised that the reason a movie does not do well, is not due to the rating, its due to whether its any good. Watchmen was too confused and cut for most average audiences, but Bioshock was a completely different movie with a completely different audience and feel. It could have been awesome, and would have done well.

Gutted! i was really looking forward to this movie. I agree with some of these comments,just make the god damn movie!!!!