A Borderlands movie is in the works at Lionsgate

BorderlandsPreSequel 2014-09-27 08-59-06-08

Seemingly completely unafraid of movie critics using the "this is total claptrap" line, Lionsgate has revealed that it is developing a movie based on Gearbox's Borderlands franchise. Variety says the "tentpole" flick is being produced by Avi and Ari Arad, who are worth mentioning for their past production credits, including numerous early Marvel films, and Avi's status as the founder and, until 2006, CEO of Marvel Studios.

“Lionsgate has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace with an incredible portfolio of brands; our partners at Gearbox have pioneered and cultivated an iconic property; and Avi and Ari Arad are two of the most successful producers of action franchises,” Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Borderlands publisher Take-Two Interactive, said in a statement. “This alliance is ideally positioned to create a bold, provocative, no-holds-barred motion picture phenomenon that will delight Borderlands current legions of fans and captivate moviegoers around the world.”

Borderlands might not seem like the sort of thing that naturally lends itself to a 90-minute, three act narrative structure, but the Tales From the Borderlands adventure series proves that, in the right hands, great things can be done with the material. And that may well be the direction Lionsgate is headed: Back in February, it made a "significant investment" in Telltale Games, and while at the time we took that to mean primarily that we'd be getting games based on Lionsgate properties, maybe we'll see things going the other way, too.

As Variety noted, with perhaps a touch of understatement, "Movies based on videogames have not yet achieved blockbuster status in Hollywood," and I wouldn't expect a Borderlands film to change that. But a Tales From the Borderlands film? That's something I might actually pay to see.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.