Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? The idea has stuck with gamers ever since the release of BioShock in 2007. Originally developed by what would become Irrational Games and published by 2K Games, BioShock was one of a handful of series that defined the seventh console generation. Set in the 1960s, a man named Jack survives a plane crash in the middle of the ocean, unintentionally discovering the underwater city of Rapture before descending into a Hell of bioengineering, unrestricted capitalism, and countless deaths. The immense success of the series quickly led to plans for a feature film.

A BioShock movie has been on people’s minds for quite a long time. Since the project was initially canned in 2009, only two years removed from the game’s release, rumors of the film’s eventual release would come and go for the next decade, culminating in Netflix’s big announcement in early 2022: a BioShock movie is indeed in production. Francis Lawrence is on board as the current director, Michael Green is set to write the screenplay, and the CEO of 2K, Strauss Zelnick, will be executive producing.

Here’s everything we hope to see from the BioShock movie.

Rapture Needs to Be Perfect

     2K Games

The city of Rapture is iconic. Inspired by art deco designs and a utopian mindset, the underwater city is more than just pressurized pipes and glassy terrariums. There’s a distinct flair to the city, from the ’60s-era decorations, to the vintage machinery, to the air of freedom that ironically fills its claustrophobic halls. It made the city all the more compelling when Jack, the game’s protagonist, wandered through the ruins of what was supposed to be the world’s first true utopia.

It’s not an environment that would translate well to a low budget. You’re never more than two feet away from the surrounding ocean, constantly reminded that Rapture has fallen apart with busted pipes spilling seawater and cracked glass windows that are fit to buckle. You’re constantly inundated with oceanic blues and phosphoric yellows, mirroring the vast array of underwater life outside the metal walls. The cinematography, lighting, and set design would all have to be on point in order to capture just a fraction of what makes Rapture unique.

BioShock Notable Violence

Even though Rapture is a ruined city, its citizens never truly left. Most can be found as corpses, either from overdosing on the super-serum ADAM or otherwise killed as a result of it. Those who take ADAM in the form of “plasmids” are given superhuman abilities: speed, agility, or the ability to shoot fire or lightning from their fingertips. However, the more ADAM is in a person’s system, the more they’re prone to mental degradation, dependence, and physical mutation.

Hence, the creation of the Splicers – horribly mutated, psychotic, and violent beings who seek nothing more than ADAM to satisfy their cravings. Their faces are gnarled husks, their bodies are lanky and malnourished, and their behaviors are manic and unpredictable. To skimp out on depicting the splicers in all of their deranged beauty would be an absolute tragedy. They’re the most common enemy in BioShock, acting as fodder for the player’s arsenal of guns and plasmids. They’re shot, beaten, set on fire, swarmed with hornets, blown to bits, or tossed around like rag dolls. To skimp out on any of these violent antics would undersell not just the violence that plagued Rapture but the morbid hilarity that occasionally lightens the mood.

Little Sisters and Big Daddies​​​​​​

There’s the elephant in the room that hasn’t been addressed yet – where does ADAM come from? Initially, it came from a species of sea slug, but as demand for the substance increased, the slugs were surgically inserted into hosts to expedite production. Who were the hosts, then?

Little girls. Yes, the Little Sisters – along with their wandering protectors, the Big Daddies – are undoubtedly the de-facto mascots of the entire franchise. A tragic pairing, one being forced to harvest ADAM from corpses to feed the monster inside their body, the other being a half-machine chimera tasked with protecting them. They’re a significant portion of the game, acting as challenging encounters that require planning and careful approaches. Once a Big Daddy is killed, the Little Sister can then be either harvested for their ADAM or “saved,” safely destroying the slug and sparing the girl’s life. The choices made in these situations directly affect the game’s ending.

They encapsulate BioShock’s morbid themes: that objectivism – the idea that self-interests outweigh others in terms of importance – cannot be utilized under absolute power. What was originally a benevolent idea of scientific research freed from ethical concerns resulted in children hosting parasites and mechanical monsters mangling those who come too close. To omit this pair, to not acknowledge the upsetting circumstances surrounding their existence, would be to lose a significant part of what made BioShock so compelling.

Take the Plunge

Lastly, the story for BioShock is already prime material for a film adaptation. While Jack as a character is a blank slate, the rest of the game more than makes up for it. We have an unexpected twist, memorable side characters like the sadistic Doctor Steinman or the dramatic Sander Cohen, a beautiful retro sci-fi setting, and the potential for loads of tense action scenes to take place.

While details on the upcoming film are still sparse, production appears to be going smoothly based on the announcements we’ve been given this year. We can hopefully expect more details to be released in 2023.