Lionsgate has announced that they will be taking audiences to the world of Pandora (no, not the same Pandora in Avatar) for a video game-to-film adaptation of Borderlands. The film will be produced by father-son producing duo Avi and Ari Arad (Ghost Rider, Blade, Iron Man).
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger tell Variety:
The ‘Borderlands’ games don’t pull any punches, and we’ll make the movie with the same in-your-face attitude that has made the series a blockbuster mega-franchise.
Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick adds:
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. 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.
The Borderlands franchise has seen more than 26 million copies shipped as of this month, half of which came from the second game.
I remember my friends and I being obsessed with the first game upon its release. We played it for weeks on end and it was absolutely one of the most entertaining games I’d played in a long time.
It’ll be interesting to see how Lionsgate will tackle this as it needs to be pretty twisted yet darkly humorous to work. Plus, some of locations will require a TON of CGI and some massive set pieces. I’m skeptical but hopeful.