We’ve got our first look at the cast of the Borderlands movie in character via a series of individual silhouette images, as well as a collective group image. Featuring (from left to right) Florian Munteanu as Krieg the Psycho, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Cate Blanchett as Lilith , Kevin Hart as Roland, and Claptrap (who will be voiced by Jack Black), these images give us a good idea of the costume designs for each character. The silhouetted portraits capture the essence of each character well, with hope that they can translate to the screen.
Here’s the group of four new silhouettes. @KevinHart4real @jamieleecurtis @big9nasty @ArianaG pic.twitter.com/aaoTR2dhI8
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) June 3, 2021
Additionally Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford confirmed that Borderlands movie and game canons are separate. They’ve taken to calling it the Borderlands Cinematic Universe (BCU), a riff on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) of Marvel Comics fame. While the story and characters found in the film are based on and will certainly take influence from the games, the movie will enjoy the creative freedom of its own independent canon that isn’t beholden to the narrative path found in the games.
Some of us working on this are starting to refer to the realm of movie story as “within the Borderlands Cinematic Universe” (or BCU). It’s parallel and related to the videogames, with authentic characters and themes, but independent canon from the videogames. https://t.co/mHsDVoxrkZ
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) June 1, 2021
We’ve also got a detailed synopsis of the story.
Lilith (Cate Blanchett), an infamous treasure hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. She forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Kevin Hart), once a highly respected soldier, but now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), the scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Jack Black), a persistently wiseass robot. These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.
In one of the biggest departures from the games, the Borderlands movie doesn’t seem to feature either Mordecai or Brick, two of the original game’s Vault Hunters, alongside Lilith and Roland. Krieg, meanwhile, was a playable DLC character first added in Borderlands 2. With Pitchford’s mention of the “Borderlands Cinematic Universe,” it could be assumed that the intention is to expand the film canon beyond a single film, which could see additional fan-favorite characters join the cast in future movies.
“With me around, you might actually get somewhere.” – Lilith #BorderlandsMovie pic.twitter.com/54rU4qZkVD
— Borderlands (@BorderlandsFilm) June 1, 2021
For now, we’ll have to wait and see how the first film does. Borderlands is being directed by Eli Roth. It is currently filming and doesn’t yet have a release date.