Director Gore Verbinski passed on making more Pirates of the Caribbean films for Disney in exchange for tackling the big-screen adaptation of “Bioshock,” the Take-Two Interactive video game. Now Variety is reporting that pre-production on “Bioshock” has ground to a halt due to monetary issues.

Originally with a reported budget of $160 million, Verbinski and Universal are looking for less costly ways to film and until then, all progress on the film has halted, according to a report from Variety. One consideration is to move the production from Los Angeles to London, to take advantage of a tax credit opportunity.

Released in 2007, “Bioshock” has been met with positive fan and critical acclaim and is available on multiple platforms. A first-person shooter, you play a character exploring an underwater facility in an alternate-reality world of 1960, fighting against various machines and monsters. A sequel is set for release in September of 2009.

Stay tuned for more “Bioshock” news here at Shockya.com.

By Costa Koutsoutis (Source: Variety.com)