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After a number of delays, the live-action Borderlands movie is finally here. While you may be curious about the Eli Roth-directed sci-fi film, it’s easy to feel confused by the trailers if you know nothing about the universe or the games that serve as its source material. With this primer, we hope to clarify why we’re hoping this film does at least a somewhat decent job of bringing the Borderlands universe to life.
The Borderlands video game franchise transports players to Pandora, an unruly, barely colonized planet on the edge of the known universe. With its inhospitable weather, dangerous flora, and hostile fauna, it is a planet that is difficult to tame. Despite these harsh conditions, the lure of Pandora’s mineral wealth and ancient secrets attracts fortune seekers and megacorporations alike.
It’s important to note that the film doesn’t fall within the ‘video game canon’ and actually remixes elements from all of the games. This is why the main group of adventurers doesn’t resemble any specific roster from the series.
The Borderlands games themselves are first-person shooters (FPS) with role-playing game (RPG) elements in the same vein as Diablo and other action RPGs that put a special emphasis on loot and cool weapons. In 2009, developers Gearbox introduced a daring mix of genres that was extremely refreshing. Today, the series is trying to reinvent itself to stay relevant amidst all the fierce competition. There are rumors of a Borderlands 4 coming out soon.
If you’re looking for more legendary sci-fi FPS video game franchises, don’t miss our ranked lists of the Halo and Half-Life games. We’ve also put together a list of the best space settlement games available today, in case you just want to kick back with something a lot more peaceful (but still set in space).
Interstellar megacorporations are at the top of the food chain
Humanity has settled the Six Galaxies, a cluster of star systems, by the time the events of the games take place. The years are not openly stated, but some Easter eggs suggest that it is the 29th century and Earth is barely remembered, Although there are references to old traditions and nationalities throughout the games. It is likely that humanity left its native planet to die after exhausting all its resources and instead set out to explore the stars, some three centuries before the events of the first Borderlands.
During the final stages of this new colonial era, megacorporations began to rebel against humanity’s central government. This led to their eventual victory, which also allowed them to become humanity’s “new rulers” across the stars. However, less than four months after signing a trade and defense agreement, war broke out between these corporations. The Corporate Wars ended with the weapons manufacturers conquering and later absorbing the others. This group consisted of Atlas, Dahl, Hyperion, Jakobs, Maliwan, S&S Munitions, Tediore, Torgue, and Vladof.
After discovering ancient Eridian ruins (more on that later) on Pandora, the Atlas Corporation occupied the planet in search of a second Vault after acquiring another Eridian site on the planet Promethea. The Corporation managed to reverse-engineer Eridian technology, improving their weapon designs and giving them a competitive edge. Atlas’ search on Pandora is fruitless, however, and Dahl arrives afterwards in hopes of mining Eridium (a universal energy source) and seeking out the legendary Vault.
Ancient aliens called Eridians are vital to the main plot
Long before humans began exploring the Six Galaxies, the Eridians, a presumably extinct ancient alien race, had extremely advanced technology that allowed them to manipulate entire worlds and even play with space itself. Most of what we know about them at the time the games are set comes from stone tablets written by Nyriad, a Siren who lived among them – Sirens are individuals with incredible inherited powers and a mysterious connection to Pandora.
The general assumption is that the Eridians came from some unknown place, far beyond the Six Galaxies, perhaps fleeing a cosmic threat to their existence. The Vaults that megacorporations have begun to uncover contain not only relics, but also gigantic eldritch beings such as ‘the Destroyer’ who was found in Pandora’s Great Vault. It has also been suggested that the Eridians had to sacrifice entire populations to seal these Vaults, which could explain their collapse as a direct result of capturing these beings.
Pandora is a wild world that reflects the Wild West
Pandora, the main setting of the Borderlands games, is a largely barren world filled with dangerous creatures and even nastier people. It has a lonely moon called Elpis, which has been heavily exploited by companies like Dahl and Hyperion.
The big twist about Pandora is that, thanks to the aforementioned world-manipulating technology, it was “built” by the Eridians as an eternal prison for the Destroyer found at the end of the first game. This explains its very unusual characteristics, unpredictable climate, and highly aggressive fauna and flora. Furthermore, the presence of eridium and deadly mutations that afflict many living creatures on the planet are direct results of the work done by the Eridians on the planet long ago. That said, Pandora’s human-breathable air has not yet been fully explained (no, it is not the result of terraforming).
When we combine Pandora’s cutthroat ecosystems and harsh climates, it’s hard not to think of the Wild West, especially considering all the visual references to cinematic depictions of the Wild West. After the first game, as more parts of Pandora are revealed, we learn that the planet isn’t entirely desert. It’s still a pretty tough world to live in, but the Gold Rush-esque call for adventure has attracted many settlers and fortune seekers with its lure of riches and new opportunities. It all sounds familiar, but the sci-fi twist of the Borderlands universe, absolutely packed with dark comedy and colorful characters, is a very appealing makeover.
Not everyone on Pandora is a murderous psychopath
The human presence on Pandora is larger than one might expect, although the planet remains largely ‘unconquered’ due to the aforementioned hostile conditions. It is believed that the Eridians ensured that almost everything on the planet was designed to challenge and repel conquerors and explorers from other races that came after their departure.
By the time the first game begins, the corporate presence on Pandora is very limited, despite its colonial past led by Atlas and Dahl. However, large structures and military encampments have been left behind, and the latest quest for the Great Vault reactivates corporate interest on the planet. The planet is largely inhabited by civilians living in small towns and settlements that have been poorly cobbled together using scrap metal, garbage, wood, or stone. In these places, most people try to make a living by running traditional businesses that cater to adventurers, miners, and anyone else who might want a piece of Pandora.
But of course there are large groups really bad humans too. Whether left behind by expeditions, born into poverty, or drawn to a life of evil, bandits are far too numerous on Pandora. Using whatever is left behind by the corporations, they have created their own self-sufficient societies and are constantly at war with each other, threatening the more “decent” towns and villages that try to preserve human civilization. Think Mad Max, but sci-fi and often touched by rare Pandoran mutations. Scary!
“Borderlands” will be released in theaters on August 9, 2024 via Lionsgate.