Streaming giant Netflix is teaming up with 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive to deliver a long-awaited BioShock movie to fans finally. Both NetflixFilm and Netflix Geeked Tweeted out the news on Tuesday, Feb. 15, announcing in Atlas-like fashion, "Would you kindly stay tuned?"
Would you kindly…get excited because Netflix is partnering with 2K and Take-Two Interactive to produce a film adaptation of the renowned video game franchise BIOSHOCK! pic.twitter.com/lUqfaNlbc4
— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) February 15, 2022
It's unclear how exactly Netflix's take and production will be felt, but the streaming giant did emphasize that the project isn't solely based on the first iteration. In its post on Twitter, NetflixFilm clearly states that this BioShock movie will entail "the renowned video game franchise BIOSHOCK!"
This could mean a host of things. Although only one film was announced, Netflix might be vying to deliver an entire series of films dedicated to the entire BioShock franchise, which sounds pretty optimistic for a project that has lingered in development hell for years.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, neither a writer nor a filmmaker has been approached yet for an official production, yet the concept has been on the table for nearly a year. Alongside Take-Two Interactive and 2K, Vertigo Entertainment will likewise act as producers on Netflix's BioShock movie.
Related Article: 'BioShock' Is A 'Permanent Franchise,' Says Take-Two Interactive
Released in 2007, Ken Levine's triumph of an action horror science fiction video game unlike any other proved a staple in the industry. It sits at number 18 on IGN's own Top 100 Video Games of all Time. As of 2021, per Take-Two sales figures, the IP as a whole has sold 38 million units.
Given this meteoric acclaim, various individuals have attempted over the years to deliver upon a BioShock film adaptation, yet the concept was axed or languished in uncertainty. The BioShock movie rights were first acquired by Universal with Gore Verbinski on board to direct, yet the project was inevitably canceled due to a $160 million-and-rising budget, which the studio decided was not worth the investment.
Now Netflix will attempt to curtail the stigma, as the streaming giant itself is home to a plethora of video game adaptations, including series like the highly regarded Arcane and Castlevania and Pokémon, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, and Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. The streamer has a ton of forthcoming video game titles, as well, specifically Cyberpunk 2077's Edgerunners, a Splinter Cell series, and much more.
Given Netflix's work in regards to the highly beloved The Witcher live-action series, in addition to the aforementioned myriad of video game titles on its docket, it's safe to say that BioShock is in good hands with this one. So long as the atmosphere, dread, and horror are all still plainly met within the Netflix BioShock movie, fans won't have anything to fear aside from a Big Daddy lunging from the screen.
In regards to that other BioShock form - that is BioShock 4 - the current reality sits at a worrying "developmental hell," according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. Under Ghost Story Games, original creator Levine has since 2014 been working on a new story and experience for the IP that has many concerned about the franchise's future.
BioShock Infinite, which was released in 2013, proved both monumental as a franchise standpoint, moving the series from an underwater city called Rapture to the world-within-the-clouds Columbia, yet it also highlighted Levine's track record for convoluted narratives on top of a poorly structured approach to video game development.
Still, as fans wait breathlessly for both BioShock 4 and the Netflix film adaptation, at least there are three exceptional experiences to get lost within in the meantime.
