Summary
Lilith and her band of unlikely allies will encounter a variety of personalities inBorderlands. The movie serves as the first adaptation of Gearbox Software’s iconic action franchise of the same name, which puts players inthe post-apocalyptic-like world of Pandora, an alien planet once the home of several interstellar megacorporations that’s now a wasteland populated with bandits and raiders, as well as deadly monsters protecting mythical Vaults, which are said to be filled with enormous treasure and wealth to make anyone the most powerful person in the universe.
TheBorderlandsmovie centers on Lilith, a legendary outlaw who has a dark and mysterious past, who is tasked with heading to Pandora by Atlas, described as “the universe’s most powerful S.O.B.” Hired to find Atlas' daughter, Lilith reluctantly teams up with former elite mercenary Roland, teenage demolitionist Tiny Tina, her crazed protector Krieg, unhinged scientist Dr. Tannis and wise-cracking robot Claptrap to complete the job. When they realize the daughter may hold the key to one of the planet’s Vaults, they find themselves in a race to find the treasure as they become a true team.
Every Borderlands Video Game Character Confirmed For The Movie
The upcoming Borderlands film has already revealed much of its cast, confirming which notable characters from across the series are set to appear.
Cate Blanchett leadsthe ensembleBorderlandscastas Lilith, alongside Kevin Hart as Roland, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis, Jack Black as the voice of Claptrap, Gina Gershon as Mad Moxxi, a bartender in the wasteland, and Edgar Ramírez Atlas. Hailing from Eli Roth, who co-wrote and directed the game adaptation, the movie looks to be a fast-paced and explosively fun time for both longtime franchise fans and newcomers alike.
In honor of the movie’s presence atSan Diego Comic-Con 2024,Screen Rantinterviewed stars Bobby Lee, Benjamin Byron Davis, and Janina Gavankar to discussBorderlands, what to expect from their characters in the game adaptation, their unique costumes, and praising the movie’s practical sets.
Honoring The Borderlands Games On Screen
Screen Rant: What was it that you wanted to take from the games and put into this movie, while also bringing your own twist to it?
Benjamin Byron Davis: First of all, I’ve been a part of video games, so there was a responsibility in my mind to Bruce DuBose, who is the actor that’s been playing Marcus across all these titles in the games. That was kind of a North Star for me, making sure that I didn’t fall short.
I was finding myself in there somewhere, and Daniel Orlandi, our costume designer, made this extraordinary costume. By the time I had the costume on, with the gold tooth in and hair and makeup done, it did a number on me. He was pretty much there. It was a lot of fun to be Marcus. He’s a fun guy.
Having played the games, can you talk about coming into the franchise and making a character that would fit in theBorderlandsworld?
Janina Gavankar: Yeah, if you play the DLC, you may have killed my father in a fiery death. How dare you. His name is Commander Knoxx, so when I went there, I felt lucky that I wasn’t beholden to any of the actors. I’ve also worked in games as well, and it really feels like it’s a nuanced thing. You have some kind of kinship, but also you just want to do it right in an even deeper way.
I didn’t have any of that, so I was very lucky, but I did want to bring a piece of my father into it for the real ones who knew my lineage. I got there, and I asked props to make me his eye patch and burn it, so I could wear it like a dog tag. Then I stole it from set so I could bring to Comic-Con years later. It’s a sad little burnt piece of leather from my father who you killed, and that’s what I brought to it.
Bobby Lee: I auditioned for Larry, and then I didn’t think I was going to get it. Why not? Because I never get anything! And then when I got it, I was like, “Oh my God, holy crap.” So, I googled Borderlands Larry, but nothing came up.
I just flew all the way to Budapest where we shot, and I ran into Eli Roth, whose the director. I go, “Who’s Larry?” He goes, “You, man.” And I go, “Oh, what do you mean?” He’s like, “When I wrote it, I was thinking about you, man.”
Based on the feeling that I got when I was shooting it, I like these two. And I love the other cast members. Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, the list goes on - everyone’s so kind, so it was a pleasant experience for me.
You already talked about putting on the costume, but can you talk about stepping into the world physically ofBorderlands?
Bobby Lee: I have a costume story. I guess they didn’t measure my head. I’m Korean, so we generally have bigger heads than normal. I have a melon head, right? So, the helmet wouldn’t fit on my head during shooting. We’re in the middle of the desert, and the costume guys just rip out the padding. For eight hours, there are shards of metal sticking out of the thing. They’re penetrating my skin like this for eight hours. Dude, it was the most painful thing. It was like metal waterboarding in a weird way. It was so terrible.
Benjamin Byron Davis: That’s not the best part of the story. The best part of the story was whether they did want you to be wearing the helmet.
Bobby Lee: Yeah! A couple of hours later, someone goes, “Why are you wearing the helmet?” I wasn’t even supposed to be wearing it! He’s like, “No, we want to see your face. You auditioned, and we want to see your face.”
Janina Gavankar: I can tell you about my hair, actually. That’s something I should tell you. I got the chance to make somebody out of nothing, so I wanted to make a hairstyle that was easy to achieve for future comic cons because even now there’s still not a ton of really accessible looks for brown girls.
I created what I call the mean girl mullet. And all you have to do is shave here to here, and then if you want to commit, you can just cut all your bangs right across. Then it’s like a mullet. But you just have as much resting b–ch face as you can. And that’s all you have to do to be nice. So easy. Just like that. If you don’t want to cut your bangs, you could just put a bowl cut on the top and then there you go. When I pitched it, I remember Eli going, “Are you okay with shaving?”
Bobby Lee: As a director, I just want to say that he’s so comfortable. Sometimes you go on set, and it’s like, “Oh, I hate this guy.” You know what I mean? I hate screamers, “Get on your mark!” or whatever. It’s only a movie. But he’s so chill, and he’s very specific about how he wants to do it. I love Eli Roth a lot.
The Borderlands Cast Knows Guns (And How To Have Fun)
Marcus knows a whole lot of weapons. Did you have a hard time memorizing them? The names are not easy names for guns.
Benjamin Byron Davis: They had this idea for behind the scenes where I was going to go over all of the guns on a table and name them all and what made them special. And I said, “I’m not doing that without Randy Pitchford standing next to me.” So, I got him to stand next to me, and he named all the guns.
These sets are insane. It looks like I’m in the video game watching this movie. What was it like being there?
Benjamin Byron Davis: Well, we went during COVID, and we ended up with a set that was populated with a huge city. I hadn’t been in that environment for so long because of lockdown, and it was really kind of amazing. But it was also otherworldly.
We spent a week, I think, on Sanctuary with all those masks and all the business. But it was this cast, with everybody, and being able to be in Marcus' shop and look across the way was incredible. And seeing Gina as Moxxi? I’ve worked on a lot of shows, and this was something special.
Janina Gavankar: Yeah, it’s definitely uncommon. And the specificity of items alone is just wild. Sometimes I think about the game devs that created these assets in a digital environment. Somebody across the world years later then makes this thing that you crafted in a computer. It’s fascinating to be a part of that and just think about the lineage, and it’s a testament to artists in general.
If you want to get into the games industry, and you want to be a game dev, your impact and legacy for any franchise you’re lucky enough to work on extends beyond just the computer. And in such a massive way. I love games, don’t get me started. Okay, I’ll stop myself.
Bobby Lee: I love the Four Seasons. That’s where we stayed. The beds were so comfortable, and there was nobody down the street. It was great. And we did escape rooms. [Janina’s] good at it. If I was alone, I’d still be in the room in skeleton form. There’s no way I get out.
Janina Gavankar: If you invite me to an escape room, I will get you out. Go to Budapest. They have the most escape rooms per capita than in any other city in the world. And we did many of them.
Benjamin Byron Davis: I was afraid to go, I didn’t know what an escape room was. You invited me, and I thought it looked like people were going to reach and grab at you like a haunted house.
Janina Gavankar: That didn’t happen. We were in COVID. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen in some escape rooms.
Benjamin Byron Davis: I learned later that that was not the case, and I felt badly that I had not accepted the invitation.
Bobby Lee: I went to Burger King with Jamie Lee Curtis. That’s another good thing. Penn from Penn and Teller was with us too. I guess he’s a vegetarian or something, but he wanted to try their impossible burger.
AboutBorderlands
Lilith (Blanchett), 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 (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), 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 videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.
Borderlands
Cast
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
