It looks like the upcoming occasionally-anticipated Borderlands movie from director Eli Roth may have hit a bit of a snag. The main filming process has reportedly already been completed, and now has a few weeks of reshoots on its plate courtesy of Deadpool director Tim Miller. But as juicy as this news might sound, it doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong.
After Borderlands finished filming nearly 2 years ago, fans got understandably confused at the lack of news regarding the movie's eventual release. After roughly a year and a half of relative silence, the start of 2023 saw rumors circulating that Roth had been fired from the stalled project. It certainly makes sense that some would assume this, given how long it's been in production. But it turns out the story is a bit more complicated, and Roth is still on board.
According to Deadline, the production has brought in Miller to complete some reshoots for Borderlands, but he isn't replacing Roth as the film's director. The Deadpool director is merely stepping in while Roth has to attend to other matters. In this case, he had to step away in order to work on Thanksgiving, an upcoming horror film based on a previously fake trailer seen in the 2007 film Grindhouse from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rogriguez. That being said, he's still part of Borderlands. It's just that now, parts of the film may contain just a touch of that Miller flair.
Based on the immensely popular video game franchise of the same name, Borderlands stars Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a mysterious outlaw charged with finding the daughter of "the universe's most powerful S.O.B., Atlas" (played by Édgar Ramirez). In her mission, she reluctantly returns to her homeworld of Pandora and joins up with an eclectic group of fellow misfits to complete the job. This includes mercenary in search of redemption Roland (Kevin Hart), young explosive enthusiast Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), her muscular "psycho" protector Krieg (Florian Munteanu), slightly unhinged scientist Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and smartmouthed robot Claptrap (Jack Black).
Many have been wary about what to expect from the movie, especially given the less-than-stellar reputation held by video game adaptations throughout the existence of the medium. But rumors say there's been a rather persistent sentiment around Hollywood that the Borderlands script is actually pretty darn good. Some stars even insist that the movie is devoted to being faithful to the Borderlands games. Whether that's simply the typical PR speak has yet to be seen, but it has potential to be encouraging.
It's still not a sure thing, and the long wait between the completion of filming and now with no release date in sight is a bit concerning. But it's at least worth repeating that Roth has not been fired from Borderlands. The extent of Miller's involvement has yet to be seen, but a little more Deadpool among the chaos of Pandora doesn't seem like the worst idea.
Borderlands currently has no release date.
Source: Deadline