The first trailer for Borderlands will have you thinking a lot about what went right and what went wrong in Guardians of the Galaxy.  It features a similar gang of mercenaries, outlaws, and misfits–every type except swap a robot for the machine gun-firing raccoon–as they seek a relic on a nasty planet at the arse-end of the universe.  Borderlands also looks like a spin-off of the anime hit Cowboy Bebop, especially via the Faye Valentine-esque star Cate Blanchett as a bright red-haired bandit named Lilith.

The trailer has so much going for it–where do we begin?  It co-stars Academy Award winners Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis on the one hand, and on the other there’s the wisecrackery of comedy legends Kevin Hart and Jack Black (one-half of the Jumanji franchise heroes–another video game movie).  With that kind of cast, whether it’s more Guardians or Cowboy Bebop or Jumanji… who cares?

Check out the first trailer for Borderlands:

Borderlands is written and directed by horror movie maker Eli Roth.  It co-stars Ariana Greenblatt, Bobby Lee, and Gina Gershon.

In case you haven’t heard of it, Borderlands is a series of action-heavy, first-person shooter video games created by Gearbox Software, released between 2009 and 2022.

Borderlands is slated for release in theaters August 9, 2024.

C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg