Borderlands is one of the biggest productions undertaken by Lionsgate, the distributor behind the John Wick and Hunger Games franchises. What's peculiar about Borderlands, however, is that it's a video game adaptation, a movie subgenre historically known to yield mixed responses from critics and fans of the source material. But Borderlands is looking to be a promising adaptation of Gearbox Software's legendary first-person shooter franchise, as yet another star of the film has touted the film's faithfulness to the original games.
Eli Roth's Borderlands film will follow Lilith (Cate Blanchett) as she returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of a powerful man named Atlas (Édgar Ramirez). Joining her on her quest is former mercenary Rowan (Kevin Hart), mad scientist Dr. Patricia Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), young demolitionist Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) with her bodyguard Krieg (Florian Munteanu), and the wise-cracking robot Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black).
Janina Gavankar, the actor playing the role of Commander Knoxx, is the latest star to comment on the film's faithfulness to the games after Atlas actor Édgar Ramirez. She revealed to Collider that she had been an avid gamer since 2007 and stated that the production, art, and costume design are all very close to the games. "And it's like, they went hard," she said. "They really meant it. Even down to our costumes, just getting the colors of everything right. There's a lot of love that went into the production."
Borderlands' extensive ensemble of actors also includes Haley Bennett, Olivier Richters, Gina Gershon, Cheyenne Jackson, Charles Babalola, Benjamin Byron Davis, Steven Boyer, Ryann Redmond, and Bobby Lee. Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO's Chernobyl series, co-wrote the script with Eli Roth. Borderlands also boasts a talented behind-the-scenes team that includes School of Rock cinematographer Rogier Stoffers, The Interview editor Evan Henke, and True Blood score composer Nathan Barr. Borderlands is one of several high-profile video game movies being released in 2022, as Uncharted, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Illumination's Super Mario Bros. movie will also be released next year.
The supportive and encouraging words from Janina Gavankar provide even more reasons for fans to be excited about the upcoming Borderlands film. After Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, gamers are no doubt more aware than ever of the potential for video game movies to be faithful to their sources—and if a great deal of care has truly been put into the set design, costume design, and other craft elements of the film, then Borderlands fans are surely in for a treat.
Borderlands is slated for release in 2022, but the film does not have an official release date yet.
Source: Collider