Netflix has finally announced who will be helming and writing its live-action adaptation of the beloved BioShock video game franchise, hinting at how the movie could turn out.
In a tweet, Netflix revealed that the BioShock movie will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously directed the 2007 zombie action I Am Legend, the 2005 Keanu Reeves-starring occult thriller Constantine and four of the five Hunger Games films — all of which were big-budget adaptations of novels or comics. That’s encouraging, given how high expectations are for a live-action version of BioShock, a beloved series of haunting action games set in failed utopian cities.
The movie will be based on a script written by Michael Green, who has an even longer resume adapting geeky material, like writing and producing the American Gods TV series and scripting the films Logan, Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, as well as both Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. In other words, he’s very experienced with adaptations of established material, as well as riffing on genre conventions given his earlier TV work writing for shows like Smallville, Heroes and Kings.
It’s the first news about the film we’ve gotten since Netflix announced the adaptation in February, so we’re still largely in the dark about how close it’ll adhere to the games. And we’re still waiting for anything on the cast and release date.