Posted in: Movies, Netflix | Tagged: bioshock, francis lawrence, netflix, The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

BioShock Director Says They Have "A Really Good Script"

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes director Francis Lawrence says that the BioShock film for Netflix has "a really good script."

Published Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:32:08 -0600

by Kaitlyn Booth

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Article Summary

Francis Lawrence touts a "really good script" for Netflix's BioShock film.
Video game adaptations gain momentum with BioShock's development progress.
The film will stay true to the game's story with some surprising new twists.
After wrapping up The Hunger Games prequel, Lawrence to focus on BioShock.

For a long time, it felt like video game adaptations could not get it together, and several were in such a low level of development hell that they were frozen in a lake of ice. Then, one by one, those projects started happening and getting off the ground. The Halo TV show actually came to pass, even if it didn't make much of an impact, and the Uncharted film was all right and did pretty damn well commercially. So it was time to cut free another project from that frozen lake in development hell, and Netflix announced in February 2022 that they would be making a movie based on BioShock.

People have been trying to make this film happen since 2008, but it never happened. Netflix not only announced the project, but months later, in August, they announced that The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence would be directing with Michael Green writing the script. Things have been pretty quiet since then, and people's opinions on what a video game adaptation can and should have has only improved, with The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie becoming critical and commercial success stories. Lawrence is finishing up the press round for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, but Total Film did get to ask him how the development for BioShock is coming along. Lawrence assured everyone, "It's good; I have a really good script." A good script is always a big step in the right direction.

The Bioshock Movie Is Finally Happening at Netflix — BioShock Key Art. Credit: Netflix

One thing that all video game adaptations have had to contend with is the change from interactive to inactive mediums. However, originality is arguably something that BioShock has above any of the other adaptations mentioned above. There is no denying how good The Last of Us might be. It's not the most original crayon in the box, and that's fine; execution is everything, but it's the story and world of BioShock that has captivated fans since the game came out in 2007. So fans should be assured that Lawrence is staying true to the game while bringing in some new elements that will surprise even the biggest fans.

"Oh, we have some new little bits in there, yes," he smiles, adding: "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."

At the moment, we don't have any other information about BioShock. Still, now that The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is properly wrapping up this month with its release, it's probably time for Lawrence to turn his full attention to BioShock and make sure that this adaptation doesn't end up falling back into that frozen lake of development hell.

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