What would you want from a Bioshock movie?

[StaceyPowers]

On this thread, @skyfire and @kingpotato and I were talking about the idea of a Bioshock movie, and what we'd want from one.

We all agreed that what would be most interesting would feasibly be a story about Rapture, but maybe not an adaptation of Bioshock 1 or 2. A different story exploring some other facet of the city's history.

Personally, I'd love if our hypothetical, nonexistent film were set before the fall, so that we can see what Rapture was like at its height.

What would you want from a Bioshock film?

[kingpotato]

I will agree on a story based about Rapture before the fall, and maybe the ending of the movie being the beginning of the first Bioshock game when the plane falls down.

[skyfire]

I'd love to see the minute detail of the rapture world. I hope instead of chaos they spend time on building or covering the whole raptures narrative first. It'd be definitely intriguing. I don't think any good director has that much depth but let's just cross fingers. 

[DylanC]

I'm pretty sure there was a Bioshock movie in pre-production for a while. Unfortunately, the studio couldn't get the project off the ground because it needed such a massive budget, which they didn't have. The most important character to nail in a Bioshock movie would definitely be the location of Rapture, which is just so iconic and cool - but pricey from a movie-perspective. It could be done, but it probably was a risky proposition, especially considering how video game-based movies are often so critically derided. 

Found this which may shed some light on it: https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/bioshock/47369/bioshock-why-the-film-collapsed

Edited June 7, 2019 by DylanC

[DylanC]

To your question, though, I'd definitely love to see an original story set in Rapture. Perhaps from the perspective/origin of the splicers/Big Daddies/Little Sisters in Rapture combined with some narrative focus about what was going on in the world above that was the catalyst which made Andrew Ryan conceive, fit the bill and ultimately build Rapture in the first place. Sure, some of that is explained in the games, I just think it should be a movie which you can enjoy without having played the games. Some easter eggs for gamers would be super important, too. It's a rich and intriguing mythos that would definitely make for a good film imho. 

[StaceyPowers]

@DylanC Capturing Rapture itself would indeed be a challenge, specially getting the ambiance right. I think Guillermo Del Toro could probably manage it. 

As far as budget goes, there might be workarounds there because of the setting, actually. You can see it in the games themselves. There is actually very little detail or resolution on the cityscapes through the windows, but the rippling water and the low detail we'd expect at the bottom of the ocean doesn't make it seem weird. Low light and low visibility in a film also could help to reduce special effects budget requirements.

I'd be interested in a story that explores the origin of the splicers, as we never really see anything from their point of view. A story about Tannenbaum would interest me as well, as I adored her character.

[DylanC]

16 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

@DylanC Capturing Rapture itself would indeed be a challenge, specially getting the ambiance right. I think Guillermo Del Toro could probably manage it. 

As far as budget goes, there might be workarounds there because of the setting, actually. You can see it in the games themselves. There is actually very little detail or resolution on the cityscapes through the windows, but the rippling water and the low detail we'd expect at the bottom of the ocean doesn't make it seem weird. Low light and low visibility in a film also could help to reduce special effects budget requirements.

I'd be interested in a story that explores the origin of the splicers, as we never really see anything from their point of view. A story about Tannenbaum would interest me as well, as I adored her character.

I like your workarounds, they’d definitely help reduce the budget. Another movie called SPHERE was set on an underwater research station - much akin to Bioshock - and used your aforementioned workarounds. It absolutely could be done, but a great script, a talented visual effects team and a good cast would be important to its success. Also, aiming for a hard horror R-rating would be a must, too.

[StaceyPowers]

22 hours ago, DylanC said:

I like your workarounds, they’d definitely help reduce the budget. Another movie called SPHERE was set on an underwater research station - much akin to Bioshock - and used your aforementioned workarounds. It absolutely could be done, but a great script, a talented visual effects team and a good cast would be important to its success. Also, aiming for a hard horror R-rating would be a must, too.

I remember Sphere. I also recall that for its time, it featured cutting edge special effects.

An R-rating? Nah, let’s aim for G =D

[skyfire]

Anyone knows of the movie series named ironsky? It's kind of parody movie series but if bioshock's rapture can be turned into something like this visually but not made parody, and kind of made us see the bad guys win. That would be movie worth watching.