Gore Verbinski, the director behind Pirates of the Caribbean, recently revealed that his abandoned BioShock movie adaptation would have creatively incorporated both of the original game's endings to challenge audiences' perceptions. Verbinski was set to helm the film adaptation in 2008 with Universal Studios, working from a script by John Logan, known for Gladiator and Skyfall.
Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition due to prolonged disputes over its proposed $200 million budget, which was considered risky given its aim for an R rating. Verbinski has mentioned that filming was just eight weeks away before plans fell through. Efforts to secure financing continued for several years, but BioShock creator Ken Levine confirmed the project's cancellation by 2013.
In a recent Reddit Q&A, Verbinski expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, "I loved this project when we were getting close to making it at Universal. I was going to dive deeply into the Oedipal aspect and definitely keep it hard R with the Little Sisters, and the 'choices' the protagonist makes... and the consequences." He added, "I had worked out a way with writer John Logan to have both endings and I was looking forward to bringing that to the big screen and really messing with people's heads. We had some great designs for the Big Daddies and the entire underwater demented art-deco aesthetic. Every year I hear something about the project, but I'm not sure any studio is quite willing to go where I was headed."
The original BioShock features two distinct endings based on player decisions regarding the Little Sisters: rescuing them leads to a 'happy' ending with a long life and a peaceful deathbed scene, while sacrificing them results in a darker outcome where power becomes paramount, culminating in an ominous nuclear submarine attack. It remains unclear how Verbinski's film would have depicted both endings—perhaps through dream sequences or ambiguous futures—though BioShock Infinite's later exploration of multiverse themes wasn't yet a factor during his involvement.
Interest in adapting BioShock has since revived, with Netflix announcing a new adaptation in 2022. However, the project has faced delays due to script changes and studio shifts. In September 2025, producer Roy Lee confirmed it's still in active development, with director Francis Lawrence attached after completing The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Lawrence noted, "It's a tricky adaptation, so there's lots of things to figure out and to get right. There's regime changes at Netflix, and so things stall out and get re-energized and stall out and get re-energized, and I think we're in a pretty good place, honestly."
In gaming news, 2K announced last summer that BioShock 4, in development for a decade, has been overhauled. Amid layoffs and further delays, Rod Fergusson, former head of Gears of War and Diablo franchise lead, will now oversee the project and lead development studio Cloud Chamber as they work towards its eventual release.
