Borderlands - Release Date, Cast, Plot And More Info

Video game movies have come a long way in the last several years, with the likes of "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," among others, making great strides. As a result, many Hollywood studios are turning to the gaming world in hopes of finding the next great big-screen franchise. To that end, Lionsgate is set to release "Borderlands" as one of this summer's big blockbusters and yes, it is based on an extremely popular series of games.

This one has been in the works for a long time and even finished filming several years ago. But it's finally arriving this year and fans will soon know if this will be the next step in the right direction for video game movies. We're here to give you all of the need-to-know details about the film so you can be ready when it hits theaters — from who is behind the camera to who is voicing Claptrap, we've got you covered. Let's get into it.

"Borderlands" is set to hit theaters on Friday, August 9, 2024. Since the film hails from Lionsgate, it will be exclusively in theaters when it first premieres. It will eventually make its way to VOD (seeing as Lionsgate doesn't have a dedicated streaming service). The amount of time it takes before the film is available to watch at home will largely depend on how well it performs at the box office.

"Borderlands" is based on the popular series of video games from Gearbox and 2K. It will be bringing several familiar characters from the games to life, in addition to visiting familiar locations. The official, lengthy synopsis for the film reads as follows:

Lilith, an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas, the universe's most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits — Roland, a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina's musclebound protector; Tannis, the oddball scientist who's seen it all; and Claptrap, a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora's most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands — but they'll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.

The stacked cast is led by Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett ("Tar," "Thor: Ragnarok") as Lilith. The ensemble also includes Kevin Hart ("Lift," "Central Intelligence") as Roland, Jack Black ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie," "School of Rock")) as Claptrap, Jamie Lee Curtis ("Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Halloween") as Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt ("65," "Barbie") as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu ("Creed II," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings") as Krieg, and Edgar Ramirez ("Yes Day," "Dr. Death") as Atlas.

Eli Roth directed the "Borderlands" movie. He is known best as the director of horror films such as "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel." The film marks a reunion for Roth and Blanchett, as the two previously collaborated on "The House with a Clock in its Walls." While Roth is credited as the director, it should be known that Tim Miller, of "Deadpool" fame, stepped in to oversee reshoots on the film last year, as Roth was busy making "Thanksgiving."

Roth, in addition to directing, is credited with the script alongside someone named Joe Crombie. However, it is worth noting that Craig Mazin, who was behind HBO hits such as "Chernobyl" and "The Last of Us," originally penned the screenplay. He later fought to have his name removed from the project, which seems to explain the Crombie credit.

Even though the film finished filming way back in the summer of 2021, the trailer was only released in February of this year. But we do, indeed, have a trailer now that shows us what Roth and Co. have been working on for all this time. Check it out for yourself above.