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We haven’t had an update on Netflix\u2019s Bioshock<\/em> movie<\/a> in a couple of years, leading some to wonder if it was quietly canned. The good news? The movie\u2019s still coming. The (potential) bad news? The budget has been slashed, according to reporting by Variety<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n This comes from producer Roy Lee, who was one of the people behind The Lego Movie<\/em>. He announced the reduced budget during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. He didn\u2019t put out any numbers, but did say that the movie is currently being \u201creconfigured\u201d to be a \u201cmore personal\u201d film. Director Francis Lawrence is still helming the picture<\/a>. He has directed four of the five Hunger Games movies, along with I Am Legend<\/em> and the original Constantine<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Bioshock<\/em> film was first announced back in 2022, but since that time Netflix has experienced something of a regime change on the executive level. Dan Lin replaced Scott Stuber as the streamer\u2019s film chief and Lin has tightened the purse strings away from stuff like Zack Snyder\u2019s Rebel Moon<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new regime has lowered the budgets,\u201d Lee said at Comic-Con. \u201cSo we\u2019re doing a much smaller version.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to budget cuts, Lee noted that Netflix has changed its compensation strategy with regard to movies. It\u2019s shifting to a more traditional model that relies on bonuses tied to actual viewership numbers.<\/p>\n This could actually be good news. In my opinion, personal stories tend to work better than constant CGI battles with hordes of faceless baddies. Bioshock<\/em> is also, at its heart, a personal story about family, with the fantastical Rapture setting being window dressing.<\/p>\n