"The new regime has lowered the budgets. So we're doing a much smaller version."
Netflix's movie based on the BioShock game series remains in the works, but it's undergoing significant changes. Producer Roy Lee said at San Diego Comic-Con that the project is still alive, but has been "reconfigured" to become a "more personal" film.
Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games) is still on board to direct. Lee said the recent changes at Netflix, where Dan Lin replaced Scott Stuber as the company's top movie boss, have resulted in the reduced budget for the BioShock movie.
"The new regime has lowered the budgets," Lee said, as reported by Variety. "So we're doing a much smaller version... It's going to be a more personal point of view, as opposed to a grander, big project."
Regarding the changes at Netflix, Lin's mandate at Netflix is reportedly to "improve the quality" of its movie releases and produce a "wide spectrum of films" at different budget levels to help create more content that can appeal to Netflix's subscriber base.
Another big change is that Netflix is changing how it reportedly pays filmmakers. Whereas Netflix previously focused on volume--in 2021, it released a new film every week--Lin's aim is to make Netflix's films "better, cheaper, and less frequent," a report said. Discussions are reportedly underway for filmmakers and actors to get paid based on how a film performs for Netflix instead of a big payment up front.
The BioShock movie was first announced more than two years ago in February 2022, so fans were understandably eager for any news about how it's shaping up.
Fans may recall how, many years ago, Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski attempted to make a $200 million, R-rated BioShock movie for Fast & Furious studio Universal. However, the studio "balked" at his pitch, including the budget and rating, Verbinski said, and the project never got off the ground.
BioShock the game series is continuing as well, as the studio Cloud Chamber is working on a new game in the franchise right now. Recently, it came to light that the developer is "ramping up" hiring.
In addition to the BioShock movie, Netflix is producing a movie and animated series based on Gears of War. The next big video game film adaptation is Borderlands, which releases in theaters on August 9.
