Borderlands director acknowledges there’s going to be "similarities" to Guardians of the Galaxy, but audiences will "see that it’s different"

At first blush, Borderlands may appear to be treading on similar wisecracking ground to the ultra-quippy, ultra-vibrant Guardians of the Galaxy. 

As director Eli Roth tells Total Film in our new issue out on Thursday, June 20, which features Deadpool and Wolverine on the cover, he's actively avoided aping the Marvel team-up movie.

"There’s going to be similarities no matter what you do, just because of the nature of the subject matter," Roth says.

"I was very conscious of not remaking Guardians. [Audiences will] see the movie, and they’ll see it’s different."

In a similar vein, Roth notes that he doesn't want Borderlands to be held up as just a shining example of the property to make the leap from consoles to cinemas (Borderlands is based on Gearbox's hit 'looter shooter' series).

"I said, 'I don’t want [audiences] to be like, ‘Oh, that was a good video-game movie.’ I want them to say, 'That was a really fun science-fiction film, period,'" Roth says.

Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis, sees Blanchett's Lilith return to the planet of Pandora to search for the daughter of Atlas, "the universe’s most powerful SOB." The exclusive image above sees the group, including Ariana Greenblatt's Tiny Tina, seemingly on that particular trail.

Behind-closed-doors footage was first released at CinemaCon in 2022, with a trailer dropping earlier this year.

• Pre-order the Deadpool and Wolverine issue of Total Film

Borderlands is released on August 9. And you can read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, June 20.

Check out the covers below:

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy, or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. You’ll get every issue before it's in stores, and you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers.