Universal has announced a deal that will allow the studio to bring the hit Take-Two Interactive game BioShock to the big screen. Taking the helm will be Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, with screenplay duties going to John Logan of Aviator fame.
I loved exploring the destroyed art deco utopia Rapture in the Xbox 360 game and think Verbinski is a great choice to bring that world to life. Whether Universal has the courage to push an R-rated horror film is left for debate. A toned down Big Daddy is the last thing we want to see.
The BioShock film hopes to avoid the implosion that grounded the Halo film a few years ago after a year’s worth of pre-production had been completed. Universal was part of the Halo deal and has made sure to structure this deal so the film will be fast-tracked for release.
With Take-Two Interactive hard at work on BioShock 2 for a 2009 release, Verbinski and Logan will need to get a move-on if they want a simultaneous release.
