Borderlands made a splash when Gearbox Software debuted it on multiple gaming platforms in 2009. The video game is an open-world action roleplaying first-shooter and features a plethora of fiercely violent madcap characters. The game follows a core group of four Vault Hunters who are traveling to the planet Pandora (not to be confused with Avatar‘s Pandora) to look for the Vault. This stash supposedly has riches, glory, and fancy alien tech that many factions want to get their hands on first. A movie based on this game has been in the works since 2015, and now, it will finally make its way to theaters.
We’ve had a few first-look images of the Borderlands movie, and they look good. And at CCXP Mexico City, fans got to watch a sneak peek of the film. Via an Entertainment Weekly interview, Randy Pitchford, CEO of Borderlands creators Gearbox, gave us some insight into whether this film would follow the path laid by its video games.
“We’re not retelling a story that we’ve told in the video games,” he affirmed. “We’ve created a cinematic universe that lives in parallel to the video game universe and can live in an independent timeline. It feels like Borderlands, but you don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Here’s everything we know about the Borderlands movie so far.
Title
This video game movie adaptation will be called Borderlands.
Borderland’s Plot
Lionsgate shared an official plot synopsis on April 5, 2021:
Two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett teams up with Kevin Hart in director Eli Roth’s Borderlands. Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Black), a persistently wiseass robot.
These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on the game from Gearbox and 2K, one of the bestselling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.
We really love this fresh Borderlands trailer that details this wild universe.
In some exciting news, we finally have our first good look at the live-action Borderlands movie. Lionsgate released two first-look images from Borderlands, which reveal one close-up of Cate Blanchett’s Lilith and one shot of the whole team. The team, of course, includes Kevin Hart’s Roland, an ex-soldier, Ariana Greenblatt’s Tiny Tina, a teenage explosives expert, Florian Munteanu’s Krieg, Tiny Tina’s bodyguard, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Tannis, a strange scientist/doctor, and Jack Black’s Claptrap, who is a robot.
Behind the Scenes
Eli Roth, best known for his horror films, is set as the director. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) is writing. Mazin is also working on HBO’s The Last of Us TV series. Producers for the Borderlands movie include Avi and Ari Arad, and Erik Feig, with executive producers Randy Pitchford (who served as executive producer on the game) and Strauss Zelnick. Deadpool‘s Tim Miller handled reshoots.
Borderland‘s Cast
And now we’re to the most exciting news about the Borderlands movie: the star power. Cate Blanchett landed the role of Lilith, the film’s lead. Kevin Hart will play Roland, a soldier. Lilith and Roland are two of the game’s Vault Hunters. Edgar Ramirez will play Atlas, who is the most powerful man in the video game’s universe. (Naturally, that means he’s a businessman and arms manufacturer.)
Jamie Lee Curtis has signed on for the film too, playing Tannis, an archaeologist. And we also know Jack Black will voice Claptrap, the game’s recognizable sassy robot sidekick. IGN reported on April 6, 2021 that Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters will play Krom. Additionally, Ariana Greenblatt and Florian Munteanu will star as Tiny Tina and Krieg, respectively.
The rest of the cast includes Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs, Charles Babalola as Hammerlock, Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus, Steven Boyer as Scooter, and Ryann Redmond as Ellie. In addition, Bobby Lee is also joining the cast in the new role of Larry.
We have a look at the movie, courtesy of star Jamie Lee Curtis and Lionsgate. It’s only the silhouettes of characters, but still:
Borderland‘s Release Date
Borderlands will release in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Originally published on April 2, 2021.
