Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct Bioshock, the Universal Pictures live action adaptation of the Take-Two Interactive video game, Variety reported. Gore Verbinski has stepped out of the directing slot but remains the film's producer.

Fresnadillo directed the 2001 Spanish thriller Intacto and made his Hollywood breakthrough with 28 Weeks Later.

In Bioshock, Fresnadillo is stepping into one of the highest-profile projects on the Universal roster. The deal is contingent upon the thumbs-up from Take-Two, however, which maintains director approval. Fresnadillo's producing partner, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, is in talks to become a producer.

Bioshock takes place in the underwater city of Rapture, where a pilot crash-lands near a secret entrance and becomes involved in a power struggle.