10 Promising Video Game Movies That ALMOST Happened
1. Bioshock
Bioshock was a wild and welcome subversion of the FPS genre. Plus, its lush underwater-world, mixed with chilling sinister elements and a clever plotline, made the first game a ringer for a big screen transition.
Director Gore Verbinski signed on and writer John Logan handled script duties. Pre-production got well underway with a pricey budget in place to create the ambitious sets.
What Happened?
Verbinski was adamant it would be a hard R product, but by 2008 several similarly expensive and matured target blockbuster had failed and Universal was uncomfortable with fitting the large bill for a risky movie unless Verbinski could make it PG-13 ...he refused this.
Verbinski moved into a producer role and director Juan Carlos Fresnedillo came onboard with a scaled-down budget - but ultimately it didn't move forward, with game creator Ken Levine essentially knocking in the final nail.
Why Was It Promising?
Verbinski was a natural choice to bring Rapture to life, as he's visually imaginative and an experienced hand in both blockbuster and horror. Sure, he's had a varied filmography, but when coupled with a strong script (and Logan is a stellar writer) the results have been great - this was certified to hit that category...sigh.