The Borderlands Movie Has Finished Filming

Filming has officially finished on the upcoming Borderlands movie, according to a tweet by game company Gearbox Software. Filming officially commenced back in April, and no release date for the film has yet been released. However, post-production is expected to be "substantial."

Based on the popular sci-fi shooter series of the same name, the movie version is directed by Eli Roth and written by Aaron Berg and Craig Mazin. Borderlands creator Randy Pitchford has said that the Borderlands film exists in a parallel "Borderlands Cinematic Universe," making it separate from the story of the games. That also means, based on how this film fares, there could indeed be a whole universe of movies ahead--or at least that are being potentially planned for.

"We are authentic to characters, tone and style, but allow for independent storylines. The mediums are not the same, so the content should not be bound to the same rules," Pitchford explained in a recent Q&A.

While the story is being transparently presented as distinct from the games, Pitchford has been praised by other game-industry figures for taking such a hands-on role for the Borderlands movie. This, along with the success of movies like Mortal Kombat and the genre of game adaptations becoming increasingly viable and respected, are both clear breaks from the past, when video-game movies were considered quick cash-ins and nothing more substantive. Then again, perhaps nothing conveys the substance of the film more than the cast, which includes Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, Gina Gershon, and Jack Black.