After Years Of Delays, BioShock Movie Surges Ahead With A Major Update
After years of delays and radio silence, the BioShock movie has finally stirred—producer Roy Lee says the long-gestating adaptation isn’t dead, giving fans the clearest sign yet that it’s still in play.
BioShock fans, we finally have a pulse. The long-discussed movie is still very much alive, and there is an actual plan for when things move forward — once a certain other giant franchise clears the runway.
Where this has been stuck
Producer Roy Lee says the movie is waiting on director Francis Lawrence to finish his current gig: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Lawrence is tied up in post-production on that prequel through at least September. After that, BioShock becomes the main event.
"We would have gotten it made a few years back, but then other movies got in the way."
Those detours, per Lee, included Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk and the new Hunger Games prequel — the one that now has a date on the calendar.
So what actually happens next?
Once Lawrence locks The Hunger Games, he plans to jump straight back into Rapture. Lee adds that both Netflix and Take-Two are eager to line up the movie with whatever the franchise has cooking on the game side.
"I know that Netflix and Take-Two are very anxious to see the movie come out because they want to have the release coincide with some of the potential new incarnations of the game."
Scheduling is still fluid — it always is — but Lee is aiming to start production in 2027. In his words, the project is steadily moving, with the usual caveat that plenty can still wobble on the way to a set.
The current timeline, at a glance
- Now: Francis Lawrence is deep in post on The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and will be there through at least September.
- November 20, 2026: Sunrise on the Reaping is set to hit theaters.
- After that: Lawrence turns his focus back to BioShock.
- Target: Lee hopes to get BioShock into production in 2027.
One extra nugget: Lee, who co-founded Vertigo Entertainment, shared the update while out talking up his upcoming slasher Psycho Killer. Not exactly Rapture tomorrow, but for a project that went quiet for ages, this is the most concrete path forward we have had in years.