Borderlands Movie: Randy Pitchford Responds To Questions And Concerns

Randy Pitchford, the head of Borderlands studio Gearbox and a producer on the upcoming movie adaptation, has responded to questions and concerns about the film. The plot for the movie was recently outlined, and some portion of the audience took issue with the direction the film is headed and some of the casting decisions.

Writing on Twitter, Pitchford clarified that there is a distinction between what he called the Borderlands Cinematic Universe and the Borderlands Video Game Universe.

"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," he said.

He went on to say that you can think of this like the relationship between the Marvel comic books and the Marvel cinematic universe. The movies contain numerous changes and tweaks from the comics, and it's expected the same will be true for the Borderlands film.

Pitchford also touched on the subject of whether or not the Borderlands movie is canon. It is canon, but only to the cinematic universe of Borderlands, he clarified.

"The movie is canon to the cinematic universe. The games are canon to the video game universe. There are parallels between them, but also differences. It's okay. Consider how Marvel has handled movies versus comic books for reference if this is hard for you to understand," he said on Twitter.

For what it's worth, HBO's Last of Us TV show will "deviate greatly" from the video game, according to writer Neil Druckmann.

Someone on Twitter also pointed out that actor Kevin Hart is signed on to play Roland, who is a very tall person in the games. Hart, meanwhile, is 5' 2".

Pitchford said this is a non-issue because things can be changed with "movie magic." And beyond that, Pitchford said Hart is a talented actor and should impress you with his performance, even if he is not technically as tall as Roland.

"Height doesn't matter with movie magic. Hard work and acting skill--being believable and sincere--is where the value of a performer lies," Pitchford said. "Kevin is a hardworking pro and will show you what he can do as an action hero. Let him play."

Finally, Pitchford shared an image of his chair from the Borderlands movie set. He said the action in the film is so compelling that it's hard to stay seated.

The Borderlands movie recently added a new cast member, with Edgar Ramirez (Zero Dark Thirty) joining the cast to play the villain, Atlas. Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black also star in the movie. The film is directed by Hostel's Eli Roth.

As for the Borderlands game series, the Borderlands 3 Director's Cut releases on April 8 following a delay related to the terrible storms in the studio's home state of Texas.