Cate Blanchett Stuns in First Look at Inevitably Bad Borderlands Movie

If it feels like you’ve been hearing about the Borderlands movie for an awfully long time, well—our first glimpse of Cate Blanchett as red-headed bounty hunter Lilith came in June 2021. Now we have a much better look at her character beyond that enigmatic silhouette, and she looks great. The movie itself, well… TBD.

Here’s the image, first shared by People and later released by Lionsgate; the studio also revealed a trailer is coming tomorrow, February 21:

Fans of the smash hit space Western video game first learned of the Eli Roth-directed movie in early 2020, which might as well be the last century as far as the pandemic and Hollywood strikes are concerned. Casting continued through spring 2021; along with Blanchett, the ensemble includes Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramírez, Jack Black, Ariana Gleenblatt, Florian Munteanu, and Jamie Lee Curtis. In January 2023, we learned that Tim Miller (Terminator: Dark Fate) had stepped in to do reshoots for Roth, with Roth’s approval; he was busy at the time directing Thanksgiving, which released in November 2023.

Here’s the official synopsis from Lionsgate: “Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits==Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.” Now, what are they looking at?

Borderlands hits theaters August 9. In the meantime, check out this new poster too, showing more of the cast:

Are you excited or feeling… some other emotion about this long-awaited adaptation?

Update, Tue/20, 1:10 p.m.: Updated to include official Lionsgate images and synopsis, as well as information that the trailer is arriving tomorrow.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

If it feels like you’ve been hearing about the Borderlands movie for an awfully long time, well—our first glimpse of Cate Blanchett as red-headed bounty hunter Lilith came in June 2021. Now we have a much better look at her character beyond that enigmatic silhouette, and she looks great. The movie itself, well… TBD.

Here’s the image, first shared by People and later released by Lionsgate; the studio also revealed a trailer is coming tomorrow, February 21:

Fans of the smash hit space Western video game first learned of the Eli Roth-directed movie in early 2020, which might as well be the last century as far as the pandemic and Hollywood strikes are concerned. Casting continued through spring 2021; along with Blanchett, the ensemble includes Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramírez, Jack Black, Ariana Gleenblatt, Florian Munteanu, and Jamie Lee Curtis. In January 2023, we learned that Tim Miller (Terminator: Dark Fate) had stepped in to do reshoots for Roth, with Roth’s approval; he was busy at the time directing Thanksgiving, which released in November 2023.

Here’s the official synopsis from Lionsgate: “Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits==Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.” Now, what are they looking at?

Borderlands hits theaters August 9. In the meantime, check out this new poster too, showing more of the cast:

Are you excited or feeling… some other emotion about this long-awaited adaptation?

Update, Tue/20, 1:10 p.m.: Updated to include official Lionsgate images and synopsis, as well as information that the trailer is arriving tomorrow.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.