In an alternate timeline, Amazon Studios' Secret Level could have featured a BioShock episode––or even a crossover between Halo's Master Chief and Doom's Doom Slayer.
The new Amazon Studios series already explored a lot in its first season. From a drastic reinvention of Pac-Man to an origin story for Mega Man and even a commendable story from the pulled PlayStation Studios game Concord.
But one can't blame fans for wondering what else could have been, given the endless possibilities that a show like Secret Level makes possible.
Secret Level Creators on If a BioShock Episode Was Considered
"I Asked," Tim Miller Confirmed, But Active Development Got in the Way
- The Direct: "With 'Secret Level,' being about all these different franchises, I'm a big fan of 'BioShock,' so I just had to ask [for] myself, was there ever a timeline where that franchise was considered for a short here? It seems ripe."
Dave Wilson (director): We love BioShock. We did a couple of trailers with them and Ken Levine when they were still making the games. I think there's a feature in development somewhere or something. Netflix?
Tim Miller (creator, showrunner): I think that one was blocked because it was in development somewhere. Dave and I both had directed BioShock cinematics. I think I did two.
Dave Wilson: I think you did the first one. And I just did one, but they, yes, unfortunately, whenever, if there's something in active development, like I said, even though there's no, you know us and like a game, being a part of 'Secret Level' does not preclude anything else. It's just, you know, folks are, 'Well, how would that work? And that feels awkward and unfamiliar. So let's not do that.'
Tim Miller: If they're developing a series for Netflix, even though they have the right to put something like a short on our show, they often wouldn't want to do that because it might piss people off. I'm not saying that's the case with Bioshock.
When Wilson noted that he didn't think they even asked about a Bioshock short, Miller declared, "Yeah, we did. I asked. Greg [Talmage] and I looked into it."
Needless to say, a BioShock short would be amazing. The series is oozing with creative potential, which is why it has been so successful in the past.
Revisiting the underwater city of Rapture would have really excited fans of the franchise, especially if it gave viewers a chance to see more of the location in its prime––before its fall.
But, with a new BioShock game in development and a movie over at Netflix (that will hopefully make it into production one day), it's understandable why perhaps the powers at be didn't want to greenlight a short for Secret Level.
Tim Miller and Dave Wilson Heavily Pitched a Master Chief and Doom Slayer Crossover Episode
The Team Really Wanted to do Cross-Universe Crossovers
Tim Miller also revealed to The Direct that both he and Dave Wilson pitched the idea of "a crossover within universes," like seeing "Doom Slayer fight Master Chief:"
Tim Miller: Dave and I pitched this hard, but my favorite comics when I was a kid were the crossover comics like Justice League Fights the Avengers. And we pitched hard to do a crossover within universes, like, Why can't Doom Slayer fight Master Chief? But even if we could do cross-universe PlayStation characters against Xbox characters or something, or, you know, within these worlds, I think that would be amazing.
A crossover like Master Chief and Doom Slater would be amazing, but even more shocking would be if Secret Level could manage to cross brands entirely.
Imagine Master Chief going against Kratos from God of War or Mario having a relaxed adventure with Astro Bots (or better yet, Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet).
Perhaps if the show is able to find notable success, it could help make the owners of those IPs more comfortable with the idea of lending them to Secret Level and having as much fun as possible.
Secret Level is now streaming on Prime Video.
