A BioShock Netflix Series Is In Development, According To Copyright Documents

It looks as if Netflix might be planning to develop a series or movie based on Take-Two Interactive and 2K Games' hugely popular BioShock franchise.

Twitter sleuth Supererogatory (via TSA) was doing some rummaging through the records at the United States Copyright Office (as we all do on the occasional slow evening) when they came across some particularly interesting information.

It looks like Netflix took out an option with Take-Two to adapt the BioShock series. BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite are all listed. BioShock Rapture, a book by John Shirley that runs alongside the first two games, is also mentioned.

As you can see below, the date of execution was December 17, 2020. However, it looks as if the Copyright Office didn't receive and finalise the official document until January 6, 2022. This could very well be why Netflix has yet to announce anything in regards to a BioShock series.

Then again, it's also worth noting that just because Netflix has optioned the rights to BioShock doesn't mean anything will actually happen. Options are just that: options. If Netflix doesn't find the right idea or creative team to bring a BioShock movie or TV series to life, then it probably won't happen.

While you might be asking yourself how hard it could possibly be to adapt BioShock, don't forget that it has been attempted in the past. Director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates Of The Caribbean) was well into development on a BioShock movie with Universal back in 2009 before it fell apart like a sandcastle on a rainy day.

The story goes that Verbinski wanted to keep the movie R-rated, while the studio didn't believe a big budget movie with an R-rating would make its money back. This was a different time, of course, and R-rated video game and comic book adaptations have absolutely shown they have an audience in the last few years. Who knows? Maybe it's finally BioShock's time.