‘BioShock’ is getting a movie adaptation on Netflix, Take-Two reiterates ‘BioShock 4’ still in development

The beloved first-person shooter “BioShock” is the next popular video game franchise to get a film adaptation that will stream on Netflix, the company announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive also used the film project’s announcement to remind fans that a new game installment is still in the works.

The streaming giant confirmed the news through an announcement on Twitter, adding that 2K Games, the franchise’s publisher, and its parent company, Take-Two, are attached to produce the “BioShock” film adaptation. The Hollywood Reporter added that Vertigo Entertainment, which co-produced a number of box office hits like “It,” “The Lego” movies,” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed, is also involved in the production.

Netflix and Take-Two reportedly had been in negotiations for the film adaptation deal for nearly a year. The same report noted that it could lead to a “potential cinematic universe.”

Specific details about the “BioShock” film adaptation’s production and release are still unknown, though. The project has yet to lock down a writer and director, and a release date has not been mentioned yet.

This is not Take-Two’s first attempt at making a film based on the underwater dystopian world of “BioShock.” The company announced a film project back in 2008 in partnership with Universal Studios, with John Logan as writer and Gore Verbinski at the helm. It entered pre-production almost two years later, but the project faced issues with budget and its supposed R rating. In 2013, the first film adaptation deal was ultimately canceled.

In a statement to celebrate the new movie deal with Netflix, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also reminded fans that the next “BioShock” game is still in the works. “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,” Zelnick said. Much like the film, launch details about the upcoming gaming, which many call “BioShock 4,” are still under wraps.

The first “BioShock” game was released in 2007 and introduced fans to the underwater world called Rapture, built in the 1940s. Tension grew as the wealth gap among its citizens became wider over the years. The game’s plot is mainly set in 1960, focusing on the protagonist named Jack, who found Rapture after being the sole survivor of a plane crash that landed in the Atlantic Ocean.