Summary
TheBorderlandsmovie, hitting theatres on August 9, has been a long time coming. We first learned about it in 2015, but it’s taken almost ten years for it to get to its premiere. However, it turns out that its production has been even longer than we thought, because the idea of a film adaptation was pitched long before the reveal.
Speaking to TheGamer,Gearboxfounder Randy Pitchford says that he was first approached about a Borderlands movie in 2009 - back when the first game launched. He adds that there were further discussions about this in 2011, but the project took a little longer to get off the ground.
A Borderlands Movie Was Considered After The First Game Launched
“The first meeting I took with Ari [Arad, producer] on this project was in 2011. And the first time anyone ever approached me about a Borderlands movie was actually in 2009,” says Pitchford. “Back then, the expected value was, ‘Oh, it’s a video game movie, it’s going to suck’.”
Pitchford says he took things slowly to ensure those involved weren’t “typical Hollywood” types who were looking to “capitalise” on Borderlands' success in the gaming industry.
Obviously, much has changed since 2009, and even 2011. In particular, Pitchford says that the success ofGuardians of the Galaxywas “validating”, and he felt it boded well for Borderlands' chances of translating onto the big screen - especially because director James Gunn told him he was inspired by Borderlands itself.
As for the games, Pitchford did briefly touch on the future of the Borderlands series. In response to being asked about Borderlands 4, Pitchford told us thatfans will get news on another game “sooner rather than later”. Whether that’s Borderlands 4 or something else entirely remains to be seen, but Pitchford admits he hasn’t done a good job of hiding that Gearbox is cooking something up behind the scenes.
Borderlands
WHERE TO PLAY
Gearbox Software’s 2009 loot-shooter Borderlands kicked off a popular series, leading to spin-offs and a big-budget Hollywood movie. You play as one of four Vault Hunters looking for an ancient Vault on the planet Pandora.
