Lionsgate Films is partnering with Gearbox Software, makers of the Borderlands franchise, to film a Borderlands movie, the Hollywood Reporter said this morning.
The creative team for the feature-length film will be led by father and son Avi Arad and Ari Arad. The duo’s film credits include “Iron Man,” “Spider Man,” The Amazing Spider Man,” “X-Men,” “Ghost Rider,” and “Blade.” An impressive array of superhero action movies, to be sure.
“Borderlands has a unique story-driven narrative energy and rich multi-dimensional characters that position it to become a singular motion picture event,” the Arads said in a statement. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachberger added “We believe that we’ve brought together the right partners, the ideal creative team and the perfect property to launch a new motion picture tentpole for a global audience.” They also mentioned that the film will have the same in-your-face attitude as the game series.
We don’t know much more about the movie than that. Will it feature the same lovably deranged cast of characters? Will it take place on the same timeline? The Borderlands series takes place on the backwater planet of Pandora (along with a couple of space stations and moons). Pandora is by all counts a horrific place to live, filled with aggressive wildlife and even more aggressive corporate greed. (Think “Mad Max” with grease-punk space travel.) The protagonists are Vault Hunters, talented and rebellious individuals who seek out the mysterious alien Vaults that have recently been discovered hiding in Pandora’s recesses.
We already know from Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands that the Pandoran landscape is a good setting for a variety of different kinds of stories. While the original games are first-person shooters with (mostly) silent protagonists, Tales is a more story-driven take on the Borderlands universe. On the other hand, the description of the film as a “tentpole feature” points to a more bombastic approach than the quirky side adventures we see in Tales. (I’m mostly just hoping that Handsome Jack will show up.)
The Borderlands games are all rated M for Mature, so chances are the film will be fairly adult as well.
