Eli Roth to helm video game adaptation of Borderlands for Lionsgate

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Listen up, Vault Hunters! Have you ever wished that you could get your grubby mits on enough hardware to help you blow up the ocean? Do you fantasize about traveling to distant planets that smell like hemorrhoids wrapped in bacon? Well then, you're in luck, because it's just been announced that Eli Roth, the director behind such films as HOSTEL, DEATH WISH, and THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS, is set to helm a big screen adaptation of BORDERLANDS, based on the bestselling first-person, loot-based shooter from developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K. Joining Roth in bringing the unpredictable world of Borderlands to cinemas are Avi and Ari Arad, who are set to produce via their Arad Productions studio. Erik Feig will also produce through PICTURESTART, who are in charge of overseeing development on the project. Meanwhile, two-time Emmy-winning screenwriter Craig Mazin will pen the script.

In talking about the ambitious project, Roth said “I’m so excited to dive into the world of Borderlands and I could not be doing it with a better script, producing team, and studio. I have a long, successful history with Lionsgate – I feel like we have grown up together and that everything in my directing career has led to a project of this scale and ambition. I look forward to bringing my own energy, ideas, and vision to the wild, fun, and endlessly creative world of the game. Randy Pitchford and everyone at Gearbox have been incredibly supportive of my ideas – it really feels like a perfect storm of creators coming together.  We are out to make a new classic, one which the fans of the game will love, but also one which will find new audiences globally.”

The announcement was made today by Nathan Kahane, President of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group and Erin Westerman, President of Motion Picture Production for the studio.

"With Eli's vision and Craig's screenplay, we believe we have cracked the code on bringing the anarchic world of Borderlands to the big screen in a big way that will be a fresh, compelling and cinematic event for moviegoers and fans of the game," said Kahane.

Also joining the chorus of excitement for the BORDERLANDS film project was executive producer of the Borderlands video game franchise, magician, and founder of Gearbox Software, Randy Pitchford, who said, “I’m incredibly proud we can bring this beloved video game to theaters for our fans around the world. Eli and Craig, already accomplished and remarkable visionaries, will be amazing stewards of Gearbox’s innovative Borderlands characters and stories."

Pitchford will serve as an executive producer on the film, alongside Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.

For those of you who're unfamiliar with the Borderlands video game franchise, the madcap shooter filled with colorful characters, plenty of profanity, and more guns than The Punisher could ever dream of owning, had sold over 57 million units worldwide, including 22 million units of Borderlands 2 – which in my opinion is still the best installment of the series. A third chapter of the franchise, Borderlands 3, was released in September 2019, and has already sold more than 8 million units worldwide.

As a longtime fan of the franchise, I'm wondering if the film will feature fan-favorite characters from the Borderlands IP, such as Mad Moxxi, Tiny Tina, Ellie, Crazy Earl, the villainous Handsome Jack, and of course, that lovable pain in the ass helper robot, Claptrap. Personally, I don't think a Borderlands film would be worth exploring if a number of notable characters fail to make the scene. Then again, Roth could have something entirely new in mind, which might not be the end of the world. Hopefully the film will make use of the many character classes that appear throughout the series, such as the Siren, Gunslinger, Rogue, Soldier, and Berserker classes, just to name a few.

What say you, Vault Hunters? Are you prepared to brave the Borderlands with Eli Roth at the helm? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.