Ahoy! Verbinski to Helm Bioshock

Gosh, it looks pretty, but…

Variety reports today that Gore Verbinski is set to direct the big screen adaptation of the video game Bioshock for Universal. He’ll also produce. John Logan, who wrote The Aviator, is in talks to write the screenplay.

Bioshock sold over 2 million units last year and won multiple awards. The deal for the film rights, which involves the gamemaker Take Two getting a multi-million dollar advance against gross points of the movie, is the biggest for a video game since Universal and Fox signed a deal to make Halo into a film…which never happened.

The game is about a pilot who crashes into the sea and finds an underwater city based on the philosophies of Ayn Rand, but has fallen into disarray. Pirates of the Caribbean director Verbinski says:

“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.”

I agree. I haven’t played this game but I’ve read a lot about it and have really been fascinated; it seems more like a well-constructed sci-fi series than just a game (don’t mean to make that sound disparaging, so don’t take it that way). It has a plot and a really strong setting–usually games seem to tend to have one and not so much the other.

Well, as always, looking forward to casting news for this one…