At a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, producer Roy Lee provided a rather large update on the Netflix adaptation of the iconic video game “BioShock” directed by Francis Lawrence. He revealed that the film will be “downsized” to a “smaller budget” and reworked into a “more personal” film.

The “BioShock” film adaptation was initially revealed as a collaboration between Netflix and the game's developers, 2K and Take-Two Interactive, in 2022.

In the first “BioShock,” players are thrown into a mysterious submerged city called Rapture. Rapture was created in the 1940s by businessman Andrew Ryan as a haven for people seeking freedom from social norms and government control. The game begins with the main character, Jack, stranded in Rapture after a plane crash. As Jack explores the city, he discovers that Rapture is in ruins. The inhabitants have become violent and mutated through the use of a substance called ADAM, which gives them superhuman abilities but also makes them hostile.

Since the film was first announced, Dan Lin has replaced Scott Stauber as head of Netflix's film division. Lin has shifted the streaming service's strategy to a more restrained one, in contrast to Stuber's previous focus on extensive and expensive film production.

Says Lee: “The new regime has lowered our budget. So we are making smaller scale stuff. It will be more personal in perspective as opposed to a big, grand project.”

“We're trying to turn it into a metric similar to a box office bonus,” he continued. 'Here's the chart: if you get this many more viewers, you get this many more rewards in terms of more back end.' It motivates producers to actually do films that get a larger audience."

‘It's a good thing,’ he said, ”because it's a great way to get more viewers.

Anyone who has played the game knows that Rapture is an extensive setting with an incredible amount of lore. For this reason, the news that the budget is being cut has caused quite a bit of concern.

The game's world is very complex and vast, with the iconic underwater city of Rapture at its center. The limited budget limits the film's ability to fully realize this setting and may result in a less immersive experience.

Of course, most of the concerns focus on the special effects, as they are essential to portraying elements such as plasmids and Big Daddy. Avid fans of “BioShock” (myself included) have high expectations, and if the budget is reduced, the film may not live up to its promise of a faithful and visually beautiful adaptation.

That said, the producers and directors seem to know exactly what they are doing when it comes to making “BioShock” for the small screen, and they don't want to scare people with this adaptation.

Lawrence told i09 in December 2023: “Because The Shining is like the idea of a haunted house for me, and it really appeals to me. I also watch a lot of Genet and Caro's films like The City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. But I'm in the very early stages right now. We don't have a formal preparation yet, but we have a great script.”

Inspiration from “The Shining”? It looks promising enough. The creators have obviously put a lot of time into this film, and that's a good thing, considering the sheer enormity of the “BioShock” universe. One can only hope that the same magical and spellbinding atmosphere of Rapture will be recreated in the film, albeit on a smaller budget.