Del Toro: BioShock Movie Killed by 'Disastrous' Call

Guillermo del Toro confirms he tried to adapt BioShock into a film, but the project died after a 'disastrous' phone call. He also says he never wants to make a video game again.

Ever wondered what a Guillermo del Toro-directed BioShock movie would look like? Well, you're not alone—but don't hold your breath. The acclaimed filmmaker has finally confirmed that he was involved in early talks to adapt the beloved game, but the whole thing fell apart after a phone call so bad it killed the project on the spot.

Speaking with IGN as part of the IGN30 Icons series, del Toro didn't hold back. When asked if he'd ever want to make a film adaptation of a game, he said, "You know, I tried. We had a very contentious call about a couple of games." And that call? "Probably one of the most disastrous calls I've ever had." His final verdict on a BioShock movie? A very blunt "f**k no."

It's a gut punch for fans, especially since del Toro has said BioShock is one of his favorite games. Back in 2017, he even expressed a desire to see the game's story on the big screen after a previous attempt with Gore Verbinski never got made. So when he says the calls were "contentious" and "disastrous," you know it stung.

But del Toro's frustration goes deeper than one bad call. He explained that games and movies just don't work the same way. "The dynamics of a video game are very different than a movie," he said. "They may be cinematically similar... but the storytelling is very different, because you're not solving puzzles. You're not assembling." He compared structuring a game to creating a "mandala" where you give the illusion of an infinite sandbox while subtly guiding players. Adapting that to film? Not so simple.

This isn't the first time del Toro has been burned by game projects. He was involved with Insane, a planned trilogy of dark, cinematic games that never saw the light of day. That experience left him saying "Never again" to making his own games. He also worked on PT and Death Stranding, but credits most of PT to Hideo Kojima, calling him a "pure artist" and saying "everything that ended up being PT, it was him."

So where does that leave us? A BioShock movie with del Toro at the helm sounds like a dream, but it's officially dead. And del Toro seems done with games entirely—unless you count his daily Angry Birds sessions. Yes, really. He plays almost every day. So next time you fire up a game, just know you might be in good company.

What do you think—could any director crack the BioShock movie curse? Or is it better left as a game? Let us know in the comments.