‘Borderlands’ Movie in the Works at Lionsgate With ‘Spider-Man’ Alumni Producing; Film May Be Rated-R

By Staff Writer

Aug 31 2015, 04:52 AM EDT

Lionsgate has announced via a press release that a movie adaptation of the video game "Borderlands" is currently in the works. Predicted to be Rated-R, the film is set to be produced by "Spider-Man" alumni Avi and Ari Arad.

With "The Hunger Games" franchise coming to its conclusion this year, Lionsgate is already looking for other source materials that could be adapted into movies. It seems that the world of video games is what the studio is currently delving into. According to Empire Online, the studio is currently working with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and Gearbox Software to make a big screen adaptation of the popular game, "Borderlands".

For those who are unfamiliar with the game, "Borderlands" is a blend of first-person shooter and role-playing adventure that pits a character with various enemies in a planet called Pandora. As per Cinema Blend, the game was first launched in 2009 and was made available on both Playstation and Xbox consoles, as well as PCs. Two more sequels, "Borederlands 2" and "Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel", were then released after the success of the first one. Currently, the game series have already sold 26 million copies worldwide.

Game Planet reports that the upcoming movie will be shepherd by Avi and Ari Arad. The two are known to have produced numerous successful franchises such as "Iron Man", "Spider-Man", "The Amazing Spider-Man", "X-Men", "Ghost Rider", and "Blade". Despite the good resume its producers have, many are still unsure of bringing the story arc of the game in the big screen. Not only did most of the video game movies flopped in the box office, not a single major release has also managed to earn critical success.

"Lionsgate really seems to get Borderlands," Gearbox's Randy Pitchford said during a panel at PAX 2015 in Seattle. "And we're giving a mission to them, to make the first good movie based on a video game. And knowing Borderlands, it's probably going to be rated R."

With development at an early stage, there's no timeline yet for when the eventual film might arrive in cinemas.

What do you think of Lionsgate's upcoming film? Is "Borderlands" a good fit for Hollywood? Leave your comments below.