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Pirates' Gore Verbinski to Direct BioShock Movie!

by Alex Billington
May 9, 2008
Source: Variety

In a very exciting announcement today, Universal Pictures has officially signed on Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director Gore Verbinski to direct and produce an adaptation of the video game BioShock. We've talked about it a lot before, including mention of Guillermo del Toro's interest, but now the movie has ended up in the hands of Gore himself. I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am to hear this news! It is believed to be the biggest Hollywood deal for a video game movie since the Halo adaptation fell apart a few years ago. Be prepared to see the city of Rapture come to life soon enough. This is definitely going to be a defining moment for video game movies!

BioShock was one of last year's bestselling video games that received very high ratings from critics and was well-received as one of the greatest video games in recent years. The game takes place in an underwater city named Rapture based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he'd thought.

"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential... Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative," said Verbinski. He also noted that the game's art deco design and visually arresting characters, such as the mechanical Big Daddys who protect genetically mutated girls called Little Sisters, particularly inspired him to see the game as a film. John Logan of Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, and Sweeney Todd is in talks to pen the script. A release date has not yet been announced, but we can expect the film to either arrive in 2009 or 2010 at the very latest.

Why is is this some of the greatest news we could ever hear regarding BioShock? Not only does Gore Verbinski clearly have a definite interest in the game, but I'm a huge fan of his ability to manage absolutely epic films. I'll be honest, I loved Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Verbinski really showed off his ability to direct darker, more relentless movies all the while still managing an epic story. If anything, that should be enough to already get you in the mood for BioShock's big screen adaptation. Don't forget that Verbinski also directed the rather freaky The Ring from 2002. Now just imagine the possibilities and how incredible it will be to see Rapture come together in all of its detailed glory.

Courtesy of SlashFilm, I've decided to include one of the early teaser trailers for the video game below that gives a wonderfully visceral introduction to the game and its background as well as a few of its characters. For those unfamiliar with the game, this is a great introduction to the world that Verbinski and Logan will be bringing to the big screen.

Do you think Gore Verbinski is a great director for the BioShock movie?

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