Given that most movies inspired by videogames are either pointless (Super Mario Bros.), disappointing (Resident Evil) or embarrassingly bad (Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat), it might be considered a good thing that Universal Pictures has halted the Bioshock movie already in pre-production.

Variety reports that Universal has suspended the effort to allow time for director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) to trim the approximately $160 million budget.

Variety goes on to report that both Verbinski and Universal were wary of the Bioshock project turning into a Halo, another high-profile videogame franchise in what movie insiders call “development hell” over budget concerns.

Despite a dearth of decent film adaptations of videogames, fans had high hopes for the Bioshock movie, in part because of Verbinski’s pedigree. Also, videogame critics lauded Bioshock for its engaging story, unique visuals, and superb atmosphere, qualities that could translate effectively to the big screen.

[Via Variety]