The in-development BioShock movie still doesn’t have a finished script. Following over a decade of discussions, 2K’s iconic underwater horror shooter was finally picked up by Netflix in 2022, but the studio still doesn’t have a completed script.
After multiple years of waiting, producer Roy Lee provided an unfortunate update on the project. Speaking to The Direct, the film producer explained that the project is far from ready with numerous parties busy with other productions.
Lee told the outlet that the BioShock movie has been delayed “a little bit” as the team does “some more script work”. The producer explained that the script is “still being worked on now”, but didn’t explain how close to completion the story is at the time of writing.
Additionally, Lee explained that multiple parties are focused elsewhere with director Francis Lawrence currently on the press tour for his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk. Additionally, the director is working on the upcoming film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping which needs to be finished before work on BioShock can begin.
“So it’s just waiting for him whenever the Hunger Games is completed,” the producer explained. That film has a proposed release date of November 20, 2026 at the time of publication.
While the producer explained that the script is still being worked on and the film will be based exclusively on the events of the first game, they revealed that Netflix is being particularly cagey with the upcoming film. “Netflix wants us to keep everything under wraps,” the producer said.
The still-unfinished version of BioShock has been described as a “more personal” story compared to the original plans for the movie adaptation. Prior to Netflix budget cuts last year, Lee described the story as a “grander, big project”, but the movie now appears to be stripped back, which is probably more fitting for an adapration of the original game.
“So we’re doing a much smaller version… It’s going to be a more personal point of view, as opposed to a grander, big project,” the producer told Variety last year.
The BioShock movie isn’t the only project using the IP to be in troubled production. Just recently, publisher 2K laid off a significant number of staff on the in-development BioShock 4 project and hired former BioShock, Gears of War and Diablo lead Rod Fergusson to spearhead the studio for a new “reworked” version of the game.
2K’s series has been filled with development woes ever since the first entry with the third game, BioShock Infinite, also suffering from a long dev period wrought with issues. Nevertheless, at least for now, there has yet to be a bad entry in the series.
