10 Awesome Sci-Fi Films That Need To Escape Development Hell

5. BioShock

A far more intriguing prospect for a big screen adaptation of a first person shooter video game than Halo might well be BioShock. With its wonderful Art Deco architecture, retro mechanical designs and surreal abandoned underwater city, it demonstrates a far more inventive and unique approach to the genre, complete with a story which is also considerably less generic than Halo's. For a while it looked as if BioShock might be one of those rare exceptions - a big budget sci-fi adaptation which could actually make it to the big screen. With Universal Studios keen to get the project off the ground and Gore Verbinski on board as director, industry insiders and fans alike were eagerly awaiting its release. And with a budget at one pointed touted to be around the £200 million mark, fears that the production would fail to do justice to the wonderful visuals of the video game were assuaged. Whereas Peter Jackson had stated that Halo would be toned down in order to reach a wider audience, Verbinski was keen to get an R rating in order to remain faithful to the game's dark undertones. He found the studios increasingly put off by the prospect, not least on account of the box office disappointment of the R rated Watchmen adaptation. In March 2013 it was announced that the BioShock was cancelled, with the compromises required for it to get the go-ahead too much for the makers to consent to.