A Constantine sequel isn’t the only high-profile movie on Francis Lawrence’s plate right now. Aside from developing a new starring vehicle for Keanu Reeves’ occult detective at WB, Lawrence is also set to visit the retro-futuristic underwater city of Rapture as the director of Netflix’s BioShock adaptation. Lawrence isn’t the first filmmaker to try his hand at bringing 2K’s hit video game series to life. But while speaking with Collider, he appeared to hint that the film has already made bigger strides than prior incarnations did.
Lawrence has previously helmed three installments of the Hunger Games series. He also recently wrapped production on Lionsgate’s highly-anticipated prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which arrives next year. But in the case of BioShock, the bigger draw might be screenwriter Michael Green, who is arguably best known for co-writing Blade Runner 2049. According to Lawrence, Green has already cracked BioShock’s general storyline. All that’s left to do is turn these ideas into a proper script.
“Well, Michael Green, who wrote Blade Runner 2049, among other things, and who’s been a friend of mine for years, he’s writing it,” confirmed Lawrence. “And he’s in the middle of writing it right now. We already have our take, outline, and all that kind of stuff, so that’s all done. He’s now just actually writing. That’s why I said it’s a real possibility of [it] being what’s next.”
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Lawrence is already a fan of the original BioShock, calling it “one of the best” and “one of the most visually unique” video games ever made. But more importantly, it bodes well that he’s aware of the unflattering reputation that video game adaptations typically have. In fact, that same reputation is probably making it hard for a lot of fans to get excited about Netflix’s plans for the movie, no matter who is attached to write or direct it. However, Lawrence says the game’s “real ideas and philosophies” and “mashup of genre[s]” will be the film’s saving grace in the end. Plus, it sounds like Netflix is giving him and his collaborators plenty of creative freedom and support along the way.
“There’s always discussions about rating and tone,” noted Lawrence. “I don’t want to get into it too much now because it’s pretty early on in the process. But I certainly have not felt stifled in any way, or sent in any directions with Netflix. I mean, basically me and Cameron [MacConomy] who works with me, and Michael are getting to do what we want to do, which is great. A lot of it is staying really true to the game itself, and we’re talking to Take-Two [Interactive] and Ken Levine.”
Netflix hasn’t announced a release date for BioShock.
Are you happy to hear that Lawrence and his team are making progress on the film? Let us know in the comment section below!
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