Guillermo del Toro Reflects on His BioShock Movie Attempt: ‘One of My Most Disastrous Experiences’

Renowned filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has a passion for video games. He once attempted to create a game titled Insane, but that venture didn’t pan out, and he has no intention of revisiting it. However, he did explore the possibility of turning a game into a film, specifically trying to adapt BioShock, but that experience was far from smooth.

In a recent interview, del Toro shared his thoughts on adapting games into movies. He revealed that he had indeed tried to make a BioShock film, but the conversations with the game’s creators were quite challenging.

“I tried. We had a very contentious call about a couple of games,” del Toro recounted. “The dynamics of a video game are very different from a movie. They might share cinematic elements, like camera movement, but the storytelling is fundamentally different. In games, you’re not just solving puzzles or assembling pieces. When we structured my unfinished game Insane, we aimed to create what I call a mandala; it gives the illusion of an infinite sandbox while guiding players through their choices, but you still need to direct them.”

He elaborated, “So adapting it… with BioShock, we had a couple of calls that were probably among the most disastrous I’ve ever experienced. So, no, I’m done with that.”

When it comes to games he enjoys, the director of Hellboy mentioned his love for Left 4 Dead, Death Stranding, and Shadow of the Colossus, which prompted him to ponder many abstract concepts. He also enjoys Dead Cells, although he finds the constant respawning frustrating. He praised BioShock for its immersive world, saying it’s a place he could easily lose himself in.

With a chuckle, del Toro admitted that the game he plays the most is Angry Birds. “Every day, every moment I have free, I’m still playing Angry Birds,” he said. “I’m really good at it. I’m really good at it.”

As for the BioShock movie, it has been in development since 2010 and is still on track to be made for Netflix, as announced in 2022. In 2024, the film’s producer confirmed that it remains in progress, although the budget has been reduced.

“We’re doing a much smaller version,” producer Roy Lee stated at Comic-Con in 2024. “It’s going to take a more personal perspective, rather than a grander, larger-scale project.”