Can Gore Verbinski still direct Bioshock?

The last thing we heard on the movie adaptation of Bioshock was that production had been halted due to the escalating budget and Universal were trying to work out how to reduce costs, which could involve filming outside of the US where countries such as Australia give tax breaks for films shot there. Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is attached as director, however he may not be for much longer as he revealed to the L.A. Times that it may not be possible for him to leave the US for such a long length of time.

The bottom line is it has to shoot out of the States for budget reasons and my schedule may be prohibitive. There’s a great script and a really interesting cast. It really comes down to the financial model now. Big movies are just not being shot in the States. I’m weighing whether I can physically go the U.K. or Australia or one of those other places with a tax rebate for a year-and-a-half.

Gore filmed most of the Pirates trilogy in exotic locations so it’s probably not down to a fear of flying. He obviously has commitments elsewhere, whether they be family or business. Personally I would like to see Gore direct Bioshock as I think he could actually make it a good, entertaining and cool film, unlike what we have seen with most other game-to-movie adaptations.

I find it interesting that he says they have a “really interesting cast”. Universal probably won’t reveal anything until they know what they are doing, however there has been talk that Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) could have landed a role in the film. Hopefully Gore and Universal can work something out because i’d hate to see Bioshock stay in development limbo for years.