The Borderlands Movie is Smart Not to Be Too Similar to The Games

Game ZXC

Borderlands

By William Carter

Published Jan 23, 2024

Highlights

Borderlands' focus on loot-based progression means that its stories are always in the background, making it challenging to adapt the franchise to the big screen.
The upcoming Borderlands film can draw inspiration from previous adaptations like Tales from the Borderlands and infuse the narrative with its own take, serving as a companion piece to the games.
Leaving out the popular character Handsome Jack from the film could be a strategic move, preserving fans' expectations for a potential sequel and allowing the film to pave the way for the future evolution of the games.

glance, Borderlands is not a series that seems to be too closely connected to strong narratives. However, Tales from the Borderlands and the upcoming film adaptation have shown that there is an interest in bringing more stories to the franchise. This summer will see the movie arrive in cinemas, but the details of the script remain a mystery.

The film follows the likes of Sonic, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, and Super Mario Bros, which all enjoyed some success, but while they can stick somewhat close to the source material, Borderlands might have to be less connected to the games it's adapting, if anything to preserve the possibility of a bright future.

Although Borderlands 4 is still some ways out, it could borrow a few elements from Diablo 4's innovative weapon design to keep things fresh.

Borderlands' Stories are Always in the Background

Borderlands is beloved by audiences because of its loot-based progression, and endless potential for fun as a result. The characters that litter the planet of Pandora are hugely compelling, but the story that they sit within is never the focal point of the experience. This means that it's likely harder to adapt the franchise to the big screen, as it can't just lean on story beats and moments that can make up the structure of the script. However, Borderlands' overall world-building is excellent, and it's not out of the realm of possibility to deviate from the source material for the narrative, but wrap it in the familiar Borderlands lore.

Borderlands has an expected release date of August 9, 2024, and stars Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, and Jack Black as Claptrap.

It's a philosophy that has been used before, as 2014's Tales from the Borderlands took the presentation, world-building, and even a handful of familiar faces, but conjured its own tale of unlikely heroism while still conforming to some of the norms of the series' mainline games. Because of this, the film has the blueprint of how to take the best bits of Borderlands but infuse them with something more narrative-focused. While ditching some of the things that make the games so fun, the film can shine a light on the elements that often go overlooked and serve as a companion piece to the games rather than just an adaptation.

The Borderlands Movie has a Handsome Problem

Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2 looking at the player

The most recognizable thing in the entire Borderlands IP is not the vault hunters, nor the enemies of Pandora, but Handsome Jack, the hyper-pompous villain of Borderlands 2. He features in other games, most notably the aforementioned sequel, Tales from the Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and his unrelenting charisma and love-to-hate aura is always the brightest spot in any game he appears in. Handsome Jack will not play a major role in the film, however, which might seem like an obvious and disappointing omission, but in reality it could be a big blessing in disguise.

Handsome Jack made his debut in Borderlands 2, with the first game making strides to establish the world and iron out the kinks to make its follow-up something truly great. He's one of gaming's best personalities and most satisfying villains, and it could be incredibly tough to live up to his legacy in the movie adaptation, especially in the first film based on the Gearbox IP. Like Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, leaving him on the sidelines, primed for an appearance if a potential sequel is green-lit might be the best course of action to keep fans' expectations in check, and anticipation high for the future.

The Borderlands Movie Can Help the Games to Evolve

Should the upcoming Borderlands film just be a close adaptation of the source material, it wouldn't likely have a substantial positive impact on the future of the games. To deviate from the story somewhat, and do something different, can serve as a launch pad for something fresh in the games' space. HBO's The Last of Us didn't need to do this necessarily, as that property is arguably at its peak of popularity, but as there are questions about the success of Borderlands 4, using the film to spur on something fresh in the games could be wise.