The trailer has been released for the long-delayed film adaptation of ‘Borderlands’, but fans don’t seem to have been won over.
Starring Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Hart, the long-delayed video game adaptation from Lionsgate will arrive in cinemas on August 9.
Based on the popular first-person shooter series of the same name, Blanchett leads as Lilith, an outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora when weapons manufacturer Atlas (Edgar Ramirez) recruits her to find his missing daughter. She brings together a crew of five other outcasts to explore the planet – Hart, Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt and Florian Munteanu – while Jack Black plays robot Claptrap.
The film was first announced in 2015 and filming began in 2021, with Eli Roth directing from a script penned by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Test screenings were reportedly held in November and it was later confirmed (via Deadline) that the film required two weeks of reshoots, which were helmed by Deadpool director Tim Miller.
Check out the trailer below:
However, the reactions to the trailer have been mixed to say the least, leaning more towards negative rather than positive. Among fans’ criticisms are accusations that the film appears to be too similar to Guardians Of The Galaxy, with one X/Twitter user commenting, “We have Guardians Of The Galaxy at home.”
“I absolutely love the Borderlands franchise but this is going to be some steaming mid,” a second user wrote.
“So they turned Borderlands into Guardians of the galaxy with a very odd cast. Great,” another complained.
Others also questioned why Claptrap’s original voice actor wasn’t used.
“Why didn’t they sign Claptrap’s voice actor who is far more memorable than Jack Black for the role?” one user asked. “That in itself is its biggest mistake.”
So they turned Borderlands into Guardians of the galaxy with a very odd cast. Great.
— John || VoidRetro (@TheVoidRetro) February 21, 2024
We have Guardians of The Galaxy at home
— Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) February 21, 2024
Desr Hollywood,
What nerd hurt you?
What nerd hurt you so bad, that you had to hurt #BorderlandsMovie like that? pic.twitter.com/40P9Q1be2Y— What An Oddcast 🍍📺 (@OddcastN) February 21, 2024
The Borderlands movie trailer does nothing to drive excitement.
Why didn’t they sign Claptrap’s voice actor who is far more memorable than Jack Black for the role?
That in itself is its biggest mistake. pic.twitter.com/xLnASLeA7W
— LPDirtytea (@LPDirtytea) February 21, 2024
Claptrap has two actual voiceactors to pick from and you chose neither https://t.co/uKgmcYeHRN pic.twitter.com/ACyMC75D4b
— LeftieLuthen (@LeftieLuthen) February 21, 2024
Why.. oh why.. did they not get Claptrap’s voice actor to voice Claptrap? This is going to pic.twitter.com/DjXyHTc0xm
— C̸̟͍̮̀͑̈́͜ͅḁ̴̓́̊̀l̸̛̫͈̞̼̭̘͙͒͐̉̇eb_Blues (@ItsJustBlues) February 21, 2024
I love Jack Black. I really do. But I will miss my high-pitched, screaming Claptrap. pic.twitter.com/hgGzxLX7xZ
— Kate (@imaginatekate) February 21, 2024
you think the only reason they cast Jack Black as Claptrap is because their names kinda rhyme?
— Fry ⛧🐀🇵🇸 (@Fry_C00ked) February 21, 2024
This is going to be Jack Black’s first dud of a role, I can feel it… No offense to him – love the guy – but the crew REALLY didn’t make a good casting choice for Claptrap
— Cambertian (@Cambert123) February 21, 2024
It was also confirmed “The Borderlands Cinematic Universe is not identical to the Borderlands Videogame Universe” meaning that the film is authentic to characters, tone and style, but has independent storylines.