Back in April, Universal decided to delay Gore Verbinski's big-screen adaptation of "Bioshock" because the budget was quite simply too high, and in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" director briefly spoke about his uncertain involvement in the project:

"The bottom line is it has to shoot out of the States for budget reasons and my schedule may be prohibitive. There's a great script and a really interesting cast. It really comes down to the financial model now. Big movies are just not being shot in the States. I'm weighing whether I can physically go the U.K. or Australia or one of those other places with a tax rebate for a year-and-a-half."

So there you have it. "Bioshock" may move ahead without Verbinksi if he's too busy to shoot overseas. If that's the case, then too bad, because I would have enjoyed seeing his vision on the silver screen. Besides the "Pirates" trilogy, Verbinski also directed "The Weather Man" and "The Ring." He's got "Rango" coming up in 2011.

Gore Verbinski's had enough of pirates, and I truly believe that's a good thing. After directing three "Pirates of the Caribbean" flicks, the filmmaker has officially told Jerry Bruckheimer he will not return to helm a fourth film, according to Variety.

Verbinski will instead devote considerable time developing Universal's big-screen version of the popular videogame “Bioshock,” which he will direct and produce. The film is set in the underwater dystopian city of Rapture and follows a plane crash survivor who must battle against the city’s mutated beings and mechanical drones.

Verbinski has been working on Paramount's animated flick "Rango," which features the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Abigail Breslin.

Even though a fourth "Pirates" film will certainly happen, I respect Verbinski's decision to step down as "Pirates" director. I really enjoyed the first film in the series, but the sequels failed to impress me.

“Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski is teaming up with Universal to develop the big-screen version of the popular videogame “Bioshock,” according to Variety.

Verbinski will both produce and helm the action flick, which is set in the underwater dystopian city of Rapture and follows a plane crash survivor who must battle against the city’s mutated beings and mechanical drones.

The film is based on the popular first-person shooter game developed by 2K and released in August 2007. John Logan (“Gladiator,” “The Aviator”) wrote the script.

Verbinski is best known for directing all three “Pirates” films for Walt Disney. His credits also include “The Ring” and “The Weather Man.”

Although I didn’t really fancy “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and it’s sequel “At World’s End,” I have to admit I like Verbinski’s work. I still think his “Ring” is one of only a few solid Hollywood horror remakes.