Verbinski Officially Out, ‘Bioshock’ Finds New Director

Published by Jeff Leins on August 25, 2009

Universal is moving forward with Bioshock, a video game adaptation that hit troubled waters earlier this year.  The studio put the project on hold when its skyrocketing budget concerned executives already looking at a low year in a poor economy.

Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director Gore Verbinksi was originally attached, but bailed when Universal wanted him to take the lengthy production overseas for a necessary tax credit.  Rather than wind up abroad and miss out on the animated film Rango with Johnny Depp and Paramount, Verbinski walked.

In his place, according to Variety, Universal is in discussions with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the Spanish director of 28 Weeks Later.  It’s definitely a gamble for the studio, putting an expensive property in the hands of a filmmaker with only one Hollywood hit rather than an experienced franchise builder like Verbinski.  Take-Two Interactive, the game developer, has to okay the choice before a deal can be signed.

I’m less interested in this than I was from the beginning.  Bioshock had the potential to be the one and only good video game adaptation because of a built-in story rich in detail and imagination.  Instead the studio behind Waterworld is worried about sinking too much money into another water-based thriller, so they’re cutting back on talent and budget.  It looks like they’re essentially saying, “Well, we already spent all this money to buy the rights.  We may as well do something with it.”  Unfortunately that new something doesn’t sound too great.