Gore Verbinski on why his BioShock adaptation was shelved

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Close to a decade ago, Gore Verbinski (A CURE FOR WELLNESS) was set to helm a feature-film adaptation of BioShock, but, after a series of delays which led to Verbinski departing the project, it was effectively cancelled. Set in the 1960's, BioShock let you control Jack, who, after his airplane crashed into the ocean, discovered the underwater city of Rapture. The mysterious city was intended to be an independent utopia, but after the discovery of ADAM, a genetic material which could grant superhuman abilities, the city descended into chaos. While promoting the upcoming A CURE FOR WELLNESS, Gore Verbinski chatted on Reddit during an AMA where he was asked just what happened to his BIOSHOCK movie.

Well it's no short answer to that question but we were eight weeks prior shooting when the plug was pulled. It's an R rated movie. I wanted to keep it R rated, I felt like that would be appropriate, and it's an expensive movie. It's a massive world we're creating and it's not a world we can simply go to locations to shoot. "A Cure For Wellness", we were able to really utilize a variety of location to create the world. "Bioshock" it wouldn't work like that, we'd be building an entire underworld universe. So I think the combination of the price tag and the rating, universal just didn't feel comfortable ultimately.

At that time also there were some R rated, expensive R rated movies that were not working. So I think things have changed and maybe there will be another chance, but it's very difficult when you're eight weeks away from shooting a movie you really can see in your head and you've almost filmed the entire thing, so emotionally you're right at that transition from architect to becoming a contractor and that will be a difficult place to get back to.

Verbinski's explanation matches what we've heard before, that Universal Studios was unwilling to spend big bucks on an R-rated blockbuster. It's a shame, because the world of BioShock was big and strange enough to be the perfect fit for a big-screen adaptation, but alas, it was not to be, at least not yet. The recent success of several R-rated movies, namely DEADPOOL and (hopefully) the upcoming LOGAN, might just generate renewed interest in an R-rated BIOSHOCK film. Who knows, fingers crossed.

A CURE FOR WELLNESS is set to hit theaters on February 17th, but you can read a review from our own Chris Bumbray right now!