Despite the ongoing pandemic, production for the highly-anticipated Borderlands film is now officially underway. It's been a long-time coming for this moment—fans of the cult-favorite video game have been waiting for the big-screen adaptation since 2015, when the film was first announced. Now that it's finally happening, all eyes have been on project and the hype for it is bigger than ever.
The much-needed update was provided by Ariana Greenblatt, the actress who has been cast to play Tiny Tina. Greenblatt went on Twitter and posted a behind-the-scenes photo that confirmed the start of principal photography for the film. In the photo, she is sat alongside director Eli Roth on set in Hungary, and both of them are wearing the appropriate PPE. "We out here, camera's rolling... Day 1," writes Greenblatt in her tweet.
While the other cast members were not pictured, they were most likely still present off-screen. Comprising the all-star troupe are Cate Blanchett as the cunning thief Lilith, Kevin Hart as the ex-soldier Roland, Jack Black as the voice of robot troublemaker Claptrap, and Jamie Lee Curtis as the siren archaeologist Tannis. Haley Bennett is also set to play an unknown, original character linked to Lilith's storyline.
Presently, the intimate details of the script have been kept under wraps; however, the video game's lore could offer a general idea of what the movie will focus on. Since Gearbox's Randy Pitchford is on board as executive producer, fans can be assured that the storyline will not stray too far from what they've experienced in the video games.
Written by Chernobyl's Craig Mazin, Borderlands is expected to follow Blanchett's Lilith and her band of "Vault Hunter" thieves as they venture to find a hidden alien depository that contains an advanced piece of technology. Set in the distant planet Pandora, the hunters will find themselves fending off wildlife and bandits on their journey, racing to the vault before the evil Atlas Corporation gets to it.
Most fans are theorizing that the film will have more elements of Borderlands 1 so that if there ever is a follow-up, the sequel can focus more on Borderlands 2 with the Handsome Jack storyline.
At the moment, no release date has been set for the film. Considering that production for it just got underway and the pandemic continues to plague the movie industry with unforeseen delays, it will probably be quite some time before we can see it in theatres.
Borderlands is now in production at Lionsgate.
Source: Ariana Greenblatt|Twitter