Eli Roth Set To Direct a Feature Film Adaptation of The Video Game BORDERLANDS
Eli Roth (Hostel, The Green Inferno, Death Wish) has signed on to direct a feature film adaptation of the wildly successful video game Borderlands. The project is being produced by Lionsgate and this seems like the kind of project that Roth would have a lot of fun directing. I’m not really the biggest fan of Roth’s work, but this property definitely fits his style.
Borderlands is set in the distant future, “in which four ‘Vault Hunters’ travel to the distant planet Pandora to hunt down an alien vault, rumored to contain advanced alien technology. The hunters find themselves battling the local wildlife and bandit population, but ultimately attempt to stop the head of a private corporation army from reaching the vault first.”
Avi Arad and Ari Arad (Spider-Man) are producing Borderlands through their Arad Productions banner with Erik Feig through his Picturestart. They’ve also hired two-time Emmy-winning screenwriter Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) to write the script, so there’s a good chance that the script is going to be solid.
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 Motion Picture Group President Nathan Kahane said, “With Eli’s vision and Craig’s screenplay, we believe we have cracked the code on bringing the anarchic world of Borderlands to the big screen in a big way that will be a fresh, compelling and cinematic event for moviegoers and fans of the game.”
Executive producer Randy Pitchford added, “I’m incredibly proud we can bring this beloved video game to theaters for our fans around the world. Eli and Craig, already accomplished and remarkable visionaries, will be amazing stewards of Gearbox’s innovative Borderlands characters and stories.”
Lionsgate has been developing this project since 2015 and it looks like it’s finally going to go into production later this year.
Do you think Eli Roth is the right director for the job to bring Borderlands to life on the big screen?
Source: Deadline