Borderlands Director Blames COVID After Movie Flopped

by

Summary

  • Director Eli Roth blamed COVID for Borderlands‘ poor performance because it limited them in pursuing the usual process of filmmaking.
  • The Borderlands movie was a flop due to COVID disruptions and non-loyalty to source material.
  • The Borderlands team took creative liberties and cast choices that fans did not approve of.

Initially, there was much anticipation surrounding the release of the movie “Borderlands“. Unfortunately, the final product turned out to be a letdown, prompting the director to attribute its failure to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

The upcoming “Borderlands” movie slated for 2024 draws inspiration from the popular video game series with the same title. Eli Roth served as director for this production, boasting an impressive ensemble cast including Cate Blanchett (as Lilith), Jamie Lee Curtis (Tannis), Kevin Hart (Roland), Bobby Lee (Larry), and Jack Black (Claptrap). Fans had anticipated a live-action adaptation, but were left unsatisfied as it deviated significantly from the original game material. Unfortunately, “Borderlands” was met with both critical and commercial failure. It currently holds a dismal 10% rating from critics and 49% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The general consensus is that it fell short as an adaptation of the video game. A year post-release, director Eli Roth has spoken out about the movie’s performance.

In an interview with The Town, director Robert Roth expressed his thoughts on the performance of “Borderlands”. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time, meetings with the cast had to be conducted virtually over Zoom. He attributed the film’s outcome to the pandemic. Unfortunately, he had to step away from the project to direct “Thanksgiving”, but remained involved in its completion. Despite this, the final product did not meet fan expectations and was met with a wave of negative reviews, some even labeling it as “unwatchable”. However, Roth defended their work, acknowledging that they weren’t prepared for the unexpected challenges caused by the pandemic. Tim Miller handled the reshoots, but Roth remained part of the project.

It seems none of us foresaw how intricate the situation with COVID would become when it comes to our filming. It’s not just about the scenes we’re capturing, but also about additional shots or reshoots, which require six different teams working in isolation. Each set they work on is getting shut down due to a COVID outbreak because the cities have reopened.

Reflecting on the situation, Roth stated that the pandemic prevented them from interacting in person because they were situated at different locations. This meant he couldn’t collaborate with his stunt team or follow their traditional previs process, which involves visualizing a scene prior to creation, often depicted as a storyboard or 3D animatics. Roth acknowledged that this setup made it difficult for them to produce the film, given its expansive scope. However, they remained optimistic that they could make it work. Unfortunately, it seemed their efforts were not successful.

It turns out that preparing a film of such magnitude isn’t feasible through Zoom, and we had all assumed we could manage it effectively. However, reality showed otherwise, and we learned the hard way.

Borderlands deviated creatively by crafting an independent storyline distinct from the game’s established narrative, focusing on Lilith’s quest to find her lost daughter, Atlas, in the world of Pandora. This innovative approach sparked significant controversy among fans who believed it failed to embody the spirit of the original content. Upon its debut, it garnered a score of zero from the first ten critics, with many expressing disappointment that it aimed for humor but fell short of the mark.

It wasn’t entirely unexpected that the film faced criticism since there were initial concerns about the casting choices even before they were officially announced. For instance, some found it hard to accept Mark Wahlberg as Roland due to his height and comedic persona not aligning with a serious soldier character. Similarly, Cate Blanchett being cast as a character who was in her late twenties in Borderlands 2 raised eyebrows because of her age. Furthermore, viewers felt that the chemistry among the cast seemed lacking when they watched the first trailer. Consequently, it appears that the movie’s struggles were not solely due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also because of certain creative decisions made during its production.

Read More

2025-04-15 19:54