BioShock director Francis Lawrence addresses how closely his upcoming film adaptation will stick to the video game. Based on the beloved 2007 first-person shooter game, a BioShock movie was, for a long time, stuck in development hell. In 2022, however, the project moved to Netflix, with Lawrence, who is best known for directing all entries in The Hunger Games franchise, announced as director, with a script from Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049).
Now, still with no BioShock movie release date in sight, Lawrence reveals in an interview with GamesRadar that his adaptation won’t stray too far from the 2007 game. Despite the script’s faithfulness, however, the director does tease that there may still be some surprises in store. Check out Lawrence’s full comment below:
“Oh, we have some new little bits in there, yes. I mean, the truth is it’s game one, so we’re being very true to a lot of it, right? So, we’re not breaking canon in any way. But we do have some new little twists that will surprise fans, but that all fit in. We have a really good script, I’m really excited about it.”
Why Lawrence’s BioShock Update Is Good News
One of the keys to any great adaptation is recognizing what works well about the source material. The first BioShock game features a number of elements that set it apart from other first-person shooters, and preserving these elements will be crucial to the film’s success.
Notably, the game’s setting and atmosphere is one of the biggest strengths. After a plane crash leaves BioShock protagonist Jack stranded in the middle of the Atlantic, he discovers the underwater city of Rapture, which is where the first game takes place. Visually, Rapture is stunning, but the atmosphere within the city itself will be equally important to capture. Jack finds the city in disarray and spends much of the game trying to figure out just how everything fell apart, giving the proceedings a constant sense of unease.
This sense of unease is complimented by the inclusion of enemies like Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and Splicers, which are entirely unique visually and in terms of their function to the BioShock universe. Of course, while the BioShock game features plenty of novel elements that deserve to be faithfully recreated in live-action, the need for “little twists” here and there is not unexpected, especially considering video games and movies are two very different mediums.
