The Borderlands movie might actually release in theaters next summer, based on a new announcement by Gearbox’s president Randy Pitchford. The film, directed by noted horror filmmaker Eli Roth and starring Cate Blanchett, Edgar Ramirez, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, and Jack Black, finished shooting in 2021, but post-production seems to have encountered delays. Now, despite a three-year gap between shooting and release, the Borderlands movie has a release date.
Release Date Announced
“I can officially (tweet) this. The BL2 movie will be released in theaters on 8/9/2024,” Pitchford announces, referencing the Borderlands 2 release date and the year 2024.
Notably, this is a three-year delay from when the film finished production, which Pitchford announced in 2021 as an April release date. However, it appears that the movie went back into production for reshoots, with Tim Miller directing, while Roth was occupied with another project.
While we’ve seen a couple of trailers for the film and a few set photos, there’s been very little information about the production itself. We know that, at one point, the movie was called “Blind for Love,” and a silhouette of Cate Blanchett as Lilith was shared. Beyond that, the movie’s plot revolves around Lilith returning to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the powerful Atlas.
Lilith teams up with Roland, Tiny Tina, Kreig, Claptrap, and Tannis to battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits. The fate of the universe may be at stake, but they fight for something more: each other.
The three-year gap between shooting and release raises concerns. It’s not uncommon for a film to undergo additional photography, but it usually happens much closer to release, especially for a big-budget film like Borderlands. Additionally, one of the writers opting for a pseudonym in the credits doesn’t inspire confidence, either.
However, I’d like to say that I’m cautiously optimistic about the Borderlands movie. Maybe it’ll surprise us. Maybe Jack Black’s portrayal of Claptrap will be so captivating that it’ll be a standout film of 2024, alongside the other films that were released that year. Perhaps it’ll excel in the category of “films that include lots of shouting.”
In other Hollywood news, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on strike, with many high-profile games development studios affected.
