Prepare for another R-rated video game adaptation as Lionsgate’s Borderlands movie finally seems to be moving forward.
Comic book movies have been leading the way since X-Men in 2000, but as the recent success of Brad Peyton’s Rampage shows, the video-game-to-movie curse may finally be broken. Alongside the likes of Duke Nukem, Sonic, and Call of Duty, Borderlands is ready to cash in on our obsession with video games.
Borderlands has been in the planning stages since 2015, and now, The Hashtag Show reveals some interesting titbits. Not only is there a bit of what Borderlands will be like and a possible director, but the site also lists casting descriptions for the main and secondary characters. Fans of the apocalyptic franchise can check out who will be stocking the planet Pandora and tooling up for the action-packed space western.
Taking over from G.I. Joe 3’s Aaron Berg, The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Avi Arad will oversee the movie with a script from The Cloverfield Paradox’s Oren Uriel. Both those movies may not exactly inspire confidence in Borderlands, but the rumored choice of director is something for fans to be happy about. After his work on The Lego Batman Movie and the upcoming Nightwing, the site claims that Chris McKay is the hot favorite to bring Borderlands to life.
Elsewhere, the site points out that the movie will be heading for a Mad Max: Fury Road/Guardians of the Galaxy style. The Borderlands games are known for their tongue-in-cheek style interspersed with foul-mouthed characters, so it is easy to see how James Gunn’s Guardians movies could influence the movies. The R-rated Deadpool also bucked the trend of more adult comic book movies, so whoever sits in the director’s chair could look here for influence.
The first Borderlands game came out in 2009 and combined the classic first-person shooter with the character building elements of an RPG. Each of the four main characters had their own unique personality and traits, which appears to be replicated in the script. Offering an update on the movie last year, Gearbox Software CEO promised that instead of following the storylines of the main two games and their spinoffs, a Borderlands movie will focussing on a new plot within the same universe. While Clay and Eva are pitched at the leads, some fan-favorites from the Borderlands games are promised to put in an appearance.
It all sounds very promising and hints that Borderlands may be further along than first thought. With the casting call released, it is time for Hollywood to put its big names forward. Known for the John Wick, The Hunger Games, and the Saw movies, Borderlands isn’t Lionsgate’s usual type of movie, but it could just be crazy enough to work. With an eclectic cast of out-there characters, Borderlands could fit in amongst the likes of X-Force and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The big question is, can Lionsgate continue breaking the video game to movie curse?
More: There’s No Such Thing As A Video Game Movie “Curse”
Source: The Hashtag Show
