Skip to main content

Long read: How TikTok's most intriguing geolocator makes a story out of a game

Where in the world is Josemonkey?

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Here's a look at the Borderlands film, with red-haired Cate Blanchett staring into a manhole

UPDATE: First trailer now released.

Cate Blanchett as Lilith in Borderlands film
Image credit: Lionsgate

UPDATE 21/2/24: The first trailer for the Borderlands movie is now available, featuring Jack Black's voice as Claptrap and the expected amount of poo and pee jokes. Watch it below in full:

The first trailer for the Borderlands movie.Watch on YouTube

ORIGINAL STORY 20/2/24: Two new photos from the upcoming Borderlands film have been released.

The photos, shared by People, both feature the Academy Award-winning Cate Blanchett - with some very enviable red hair - as infamous outlaw Lilith.

The first photo shows Lilith on her own, looking pretty close to her in-game character.

Newscast: What did we think of Microsoft's multiplatform Xbox soft launch?Watch on YouTube

In the second photo, meanwhile, Blanchett is joined by her castmates as they all stare down into a manhole. It is quite reminiscent of the artwork from 2003 movie Holes.

Blancett is joined by Kevin Hart as soldier Roland, Ariana Greenblatt as pre-teen demolitionist Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Tina's bodyguard Krieg, Jamie Lee Curtis as scientist Tannis and Jack Black as (the voice of) robot Claptrap.

"The fate of the universe could be in their hands - but they'll be fighting for something more: each other," reads a synopsis of the upcoming film, which is scheduled to release on 9th August.

Lilith in Borderlands film
Image credit: Lionsgate
Borderlands cast stare down a manhole
Image credit: Lionsgate

This Borderlands adaptation has a bit of a rocky history. A Borderlands film was first announced back in 2015 - then little happened for five years.

In 2020, Gearbox announced Hostel director Eli Roth would direct the adaptation from a script by Craig Mazin, who is best known now for his work on The Last of Us and Chernobyl. A "fresh, compelling and cinematic event for moviegoers and fans of the game" was promised.

Since the principal photography wrapped, the project has seen other writers brought on board to fiddle with the script in some fashion. Deadpool film director Tim Miller was confirmed to have taken over from Roth - who had moved on to other projects - when reshoots began.

Then, last year, it was reported that Mazin had tried to distance himself from the Borderlands adaptation by using a pseudonym in place of his actual name.

Mazin has since disputed this report, stating it is "false".

"I am not a credited writer on the film, so I cannot claim any kind of authorship of 'Borderlands,' much less 'co-writing,'" Mazin said. "I did see the report about the pseudonym, which is false. I did not use a pseudonym. If the name in question is indeed a pseudonym, all I can say is... it's not mine."

Read this next