The Borderlands movie will kick off the "Borderlands Cinematic Universe"

The Borderlands movie cast
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Get ready for the BCU. According to Gearbox founder and CEO Randy Pitchford, the Borderlands movie is the first entry in the "Borderlands Cinematic Universe."

In an interview with IGN, Pitchford said, "One of the cool things about the movie is we've created a cinematic universe that lives side by side with the video game universe. And of course, the characters are there and authentic in the themes and even some of the storylines. But they're independent storylines."

"So this isn't Borderlands 1. This isn't Borderlands 2. The Borderlands movie is the first of the Borderlands Cinematic Universe," Pitchford declared. 

"And you'll see some characters from some of the different parts of what you might know from the video games. But it also gives us an opportunity to get deeper and expand a little bit."

While there’s a chance that Pitchford may have jumped the gun a little here, it sure sounds like there are plans for multiple Borderlands projects moving forward. 

If so, that will join the likes of the Marvel cinematic universe, the new DCU, the bizarre G.I. Joe setup in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and an upcoming Star Wars ‘Mando-verse’ movie as prominent examples of cinematic universes continuing to dominate the pop culture landscape.

For now, let’s focus on the first Borderlands movie. The upcoming release sees Cate Blanchett’s Lilith return to her home planet of Pandora to find the daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez). To help with her deadly mission, Lilith enlists the help of soldier Roland (Kevin Hart), wisecracking robot Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black), Doctor Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), explosives expert Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), and Tina’s protector Krieg (Florian Munteanu).

Early indications are that Borderlands is going to stick closely to Gearbox’s madcap series of looter shooters. The first look featured a pitch-perfect Cate Blanchett as Lilith, while the Borderlands trailer established the series’ anarchic tone in fine style.

The Eli Roth-directed Borderlands is set for release on August 9, 2024. For more, check out the other upcoming video game movies in the pipeline.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
Borderlands 4 Big in 2025
Toilet humor, open-worlds, and "billions" of weapons: Borderlands 4 is pushing the looter-shooter series further than ever before
A screenshot of the upcoming PC game, Borderlands 4.
Borderlands 4's tone sits somewhere between the first two games, which probably means less Skibidi Toilet and more Handsome Jack-style antics
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4: Everything we know so far
A mask in front of flames during the upcoming PS5 game, Borderlands 4.
Borderlands 4 CEO wouldn't call the shooter an open-world, but it is the "most open and free" game Gearbox has ever made
One of the new Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 moves beyond Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands as Gearbox promises "billions of weapons and accessories"
One of the new Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 release date set for September, and Gearbox has a dedicated reveal show coming this spring
Latest in Action Movies
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers with the rest of the gang during the superhero movie, The Avengers.
The OG Fox X-Men are back, with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and more joining the cast of Avengers: Doomsday alongside a whole new Avengers team to take on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom
Robert Downey Jr. sitting in a chair at the end of a long line of chairs
Everything announced during Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal live stream
The cast of Suicide Squad (2016)
David Ayer admits James Gunn has good reason not to release his cut of Suicide Squad, but he remains hopeful it'll happen
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast assemble
Fantastic Four star says the Marvel movie "will go down in history" for rejuvenating the MCU, "in the same way the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther hit"
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"