While Lionsgate announced in 2015 that they were bringing Borderlands to the big screen, Deadline has reported that Eli Roth is set to direct the film adaptation of the 2K open world action role-playing first-person shooter video game. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, having directed films such as Cabin Fever and Hostel. He also took to Twitter to announce his involvement in the film.
So excited to be part of the @Borderlands family! Thank you @GearboxOfficial @Lionsgate @DuvalMagic, @picturestart, Arad Productions and everyone for welcoming me in. See you on Pandora! pic.twitter.com/UspqIcoerF
— Eli Roth (@eliroth) February 20, 2020
Set in the distant future, Borderlands follows four “Vault Hunters” who travel to the planet Pandora to search for an alien vault that is supposed to contain advanced alien technology. The hunters have to battle local wildlife and a bandit population as they attempt to stop the head of a private corporation from finding the vault before they do. The Borderlands installments have sold millions of units worldwide and the third game was honored with the award for Best Multiplayer Game at Gamescom.
In a statement, Roth said,
“I’m so excited to dive into the world of ‘Borderlands’ and I could not be doing it with a better script, producing team, and studio. I have a long, successful history with Lionsgate – I feel like we have grown up together and that everything in my directing career has led to a project of this scale and ambition. I look forward to bringing my own energy, ideas, and vision to the wild, fun, and endlessly creative world of the game. Randy Pitchford and everyone at Gearbox have been incredibly supportive of my ideas – it really feels like a perfect storm of creators coming together. We are out to make a new classic, one which the fans of the game will love, but also one which will find new audiences globally.”
Lionsgate had announced in 2015 that Avi Arad and Ari Arad are producing the film, and Erik Feig has just been attached to the project. Craig Mazin, writer and producer for Chernobyl (a five-part miniseries for HBO), wrote the latest draft for the screenplay. He is also known for writing Identity Thief, The Hangover Part II, The Hangover Part III, Superhero Movie, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War.
Production for Borderlands is expected to begin later this year.
