Netflix’s Live-Action BioShock Film Announced

Will it sink or swim?

Movies

Another beloved series is getting a film adaptation from Netflix; this time, it’s the 2007 FPS game BioShock. It’ll be a joint effort by BioShock game publisher 2K Games and their parent holding company Take-Two Interactive, along with Vertigo Entertainment, the company behind such films as The Lego Movie and Netflix’s Death Note.

Netflix put out the announcement via Tweet on February 15th.

"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."

Netflix + BioShock. Would you kindly stay tuned? pic.twitter.com/Ke1oJQileX

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) February 15, 2022

The CEO and Chairman of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, said the following regarding the film adaptation:

“Netflix is among the best and most forward-thinking storytellers in all of entertainment today. We are thrilled that they share our vision and commitment to the BioShock franchise, which is beloved by millions of fans around the world. 2K’s Cloud Chamber studio is deep in active development on the next iteration of the series, and coupled with our partnership with Netflix, we remain highly confident that BioShock will continue to captivate and engage audiences like never before.”

Okay, so now the critical question: “Will it be good?” Well, let’s first take a look at Netflix’s history with video game and anime adaptations to get an idea.

In 2017, the animated Castlevania show was greenlit by Netflix. The original script for the series was conceived in 2007 with writer Warren Ellis and production studio Frederator, a cartoon powerhouse with popular shows like The Fairly Oddparents and Adventure Time. The project entered development hell until Netflix and Powerhouse Animation Studio injected some budget and support for the team. Since the first season in 2017, Netflix’s Castlevania remains the most successful video game adaption show, lasting for four seasons until March 2021.

The reception has been universally positive among critics and fans, and I’ve known hardcore Castlevania geeks personally that adore the show to pieces. It did right by the fans somehow, becoming what was thought impossible for the longest time – a good video game adaptation. Castlevania currently sits at an 89% audience score and 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Positive reception for a video game adaptation to show or movie used to be extremely rare and is still a diamond in the rough. But the tides have turned a bit in the last decade, with films like Detective Pikachu and Sonic The Hedgehog surviving fan reception pretty much unscathed. Even the Warcraft movie from 2016 got great fan reception, getting praise from a couple of World of Warcraft experts I personally know and trust. Warcraft was an all too familiar case where the “critic” opinion differed wildly from the audience, though; Warcraft currently sits at 26% from critics and 76% from the audience. And, as I said, the hardcore World of Warcraft nuts that I’ve been around have loved it, or at worst liked it. So, video game adaptations aren’t quite as terrible as they used to be. This gives me cause to hold out a tiny bit of hope that the same is possible for Bioshock. But there’s a caveat; the Bioshock movie doesn’t have these decade-long efforts and most likely doesn’t have quality production teams that highly respect the source material.

Vertigo Entertainment’s latest project with Netflix was 2017’s horrible live-action Death Note film. It was panned by critics and anime fans alike. A particular grievance was the total lack of respect for the source material. For instance, the film takes place in modern-day Seattle instead of Japan and rids itself of the core charm and philosophies present in the hit anime. Not to keep linking to Rotten Tomatoes, but Death Note got a paltry 23% from fans… yikes.

It’s also worth noting that Take-Two Interactive has been one of the most consumer-hostile gaming companies in recent memory, doing shady practices such as going after 2021 game of the year winner It Takes Two with a trademark dispute for merely sharing a similar name. That was so laughably stupid I still can’t believe it. Take-Two also has a track record of poor treatment of employees, especially regarding Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games. So, we have reason to be skeptical based on the studios involved with this new BioShock film.

But it isn’t just the teams working on the new BioShock film that cause distrust. There’s also the fact that this film will be a live-action portrayal, like Netflix’s Death Note, not animation like the successful Sonic film or Castlevania series. It’s also important to keep in mind that the central themes of BioShock are easy ammunition for woke Hollywood to abuse.

The first BioShock was about a dystopian Atlantis that fell to chaos after an uber-capitalist revolt went out of control. The themes weren’t blatantly Anti-Rand propaganda like some said; the decline of Rapture was a steady progression caused by greedy pharmaceutical companies and overly-ambitious figures wanting another kingdom to rule. The figureheads had a twisted morality the protagonists of Atlas Shrugged would disagree with. There was also a general subtlety in how the political themes were presented. Oh, and the gameplay and atmosphere were second to none in the field; BioShock remains one of the crowning achievements of video games in the last couple of decades. Do we really think for a second Netflix will respect that subtle storytelling in today’s extremist woke Hollywood culture? Yeah, I didn’t either, but time will ultimately tell. In the right hands, BioShock has the potential to make a fascinating and atmospherically gripping philosophical drama unfolding in the eerie art deco environments under the ocean. There really is so much potential in this rich setting, but I have a feeling instead of overcoming the iconic Big Daddies and Little Sisters of the original, we’ll be holding hands with Fragile Xers and Strong Wahmen. I do hope I’m proven wrong! Go play BioShock if you haven’t; it’s too good to miss.