Lionsgate is set to develope a new movie based on Gearbox Software's open-world ARPG Borderlands, Variety reports.
The Borderlands franchise launched in 2009 and has sold over 26 million units. Set on the planet Pandora Avi Arad and Ari Arad will be taking on producing duties. The duo helped establish the Iron Man, Spider Man, The Amazing Spider Man, X-Men, Ghost Rider and Blade film franchises.
“Part of our strategy in entering the game space under Peter Levin has been to source new brands with built-in audiences that will translate into great films and television shows,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger commented. “The ‘Borderlands’ games don’t pull any punches, and we’ll make the movie with the same in-your-face attitude that has made the series a blockbuster mega-franchise.”
The Arad father/son pair are also producing another video game movie, Uncharted with Sony. Lionsgate meanwhile will need a new franchise to replace the mega-successful 'The Hunger Games', which has made $2.3 billion at the global box office so far this year. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, out this November, will be the concluding chapter in the series, which lags behind Lionsgate's Twilight Saga ($3.3 billion) but is well ahead of Divergent ($550 million).
“Lionsgate has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace with an incredible portfolio of brands; our partners at Gearbox have pioneered and cultivated an iconic property; and Avi and Ari Arad are two of the most successful producers of action franchises,” Take-Two Interactive Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said. “This alliance is ideally positioned to create a bold, provocative, no-holds-barred motion picture phenomenon that will delight ‘Borderlands” current legions of fans and captivate moviegoers around the world.”
Yesterday, we got our first look at Michael Fassbender in the Assassin's Creed movie.