It's already been almost a year since Universal announced their intentions to produce a film adaptation of 2K Boston's BioShock last May (with Pirates of the Caribbean's Gore Verbinski set to direct), and now it looks like the wait is going to be even longer. Variety reports that the studio has placed the film on hold, over concerns of a ballooning budget.
The project was in pre-production, with filming set to take place in Los Angeles, but the location is just one potential change Universal and Verbinski are considering to bring down a budget that has risen to $160 million. "We were asked by Universal to move the film outside the U.S. to take advantage of a tax credit," Verbinski said. "We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do. In the meantime, the film is in a holding pattern."

The good news is that both Verbinski and Universal remain committed to making the film, with sources evidently telling Variety that it "will not become another 'Halo.'" As many a disappointed Halo fan will remember, Universal and Fox were originally set to bring the Master Chief to the big screen, with Peter Jackson as executive producer, until the studios backed out over similar budget concerns.

No release date was ever set for the BioShock film, so it's uncertain just how long this hold will have delayed it. In the meanwhile, can we interest you in our fresh new preview of BioShock 2?