Artist Kasra Farahani has released some truly stunning concept art for the BioShock movie that never was, after the video game adaptation was canned at Universal Studios following budget problems.
The artwork, which you can feast your eyes on in the gallery below, depicts a wonderful and wholly on-point visualization of Rapture, along with the Little Sisters and towering, mechanized Big Daddies. Alas, this isn’t the first time that we’ve been exposed to concept art from the cancelled film, after artist Jim Martin took to his own website to post his personal rendition of life under the sea.
Sadly, it looks almost certain that we’ll never see either vision make its way to the silver screen, given how quickly the brakes were hit at Universal. At one point, the studio had Pirates of the Caribbean helmer Gore Verbinski on board to direct, though he soon left after the project failed to gain any momentum. This then led Ken Levine — creator and owner of the IP — to cancel the film after its budget was slashed from $200 to $80 million, which would have no doubt compromised the cinematic telling of Rapture and business magnate Andrew Ryan.
Looking at BioShock as a whole, it’s difficult to tell what’s in store for the future. Now that Irrational Games has effectively wound down to a fraction of what it used to be — laying off 75 employees in the process — it’s unclear what publisher 2K will do with the IP. Although given how well regarded the three video games are, fans of the Orwellian, high-concept franchise may be hoping that the company places the series on the shelf for fear of running it into the ground.
Whether 2K Games pushes ahead with another installment in the BioShock franchise remains to be seen. But for now, be sure to check out what the film could have looked like had Universal Studios brought Ken Levine’s vision to the silver screen.
