The following contains spoilers for Borderlands, now playing in theaters
Summary
- Borderlands recreates several characters and elements from the original game.
- Borderlands is packed with easter eggs and references to the game series.
- “Visual elements mirror those of the games, helping establish the film’s worldbuilding.”
Borderlands includes lots of easter eggs and references to the original game series of the same name. Based on the first-person shooter series, Borderlands brings audiences to the world of Pandora. The gritty alien wasteland is populated by bandits, monsters, and all sorts of wannabee treasure hunters. The film takes a lot of liberties with the original game storyline, introducing new versions of classic characters with entirely new dynamics.
However, it’s clear the worldbuilding for the film paid plenty of attention to the game’s most memorable visual elements. The Borderlands cast of characters encounter plenty of people, weapons, creatures, and locations from the original game, which helps flesh out the cinematic approach to the series. Here are all the biggest easter eggs hidden throughout Borderlands that reference the original games, and how they fit into the adaptaiton’s plot.
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15 Skags Are All Over Pandora
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Skags are seen throughout Borderlands, and are one of the more prominent easter eggs seen throughout the Borderlands adaptation. Skags are a native race of pack hunters on Pandora. They serve as frequent minor enemies players encounter during the game, with many side-missions focusing on clearing out large groups of them.
Skags are seen throughout the film scavenging for food, in the wilds of Pandora. They don’t offer much of a direct threat to the film’s main characters. However, they add to the visual flavor of the film and highlight Pandora’s harsh elements.
14 Rakk’s Are Flying Around Too
Another common form of wildlife found in Borderlands are the Rakks. The Rakks are large flying creatures who descend from the sky to attack creatures and humans. Similar to the Skags, they are a frequent minor threat in the games who are often a target of side-missions.
While much of the wildlife of Pandora doesn’t play a role in the plot, one shot does highlight the potential danger of Rakks. A Rakk can be spotted during Lilith’s travels through Pandora, with a shot lingering on a Rakk attacking a Skag and carrying it off. They’re particularly dangerous in packs, which don’t appear in the film.
13 The Sniper Scopes
Image via Lionsgate
At one point in Borderlands, Lilith spots a group of bandits who have been rounding people up for the Crimson Lance. Using a sniper rifle, Lilith ends up liberating the captured people. She also shoots the bandit from afar, cutting to a shot from her perspective.
The scope of the sniper rife has a small star within the center for aiming. This shares a design with some of the scopes players can utilize in the original game. Notably though, the Lilith of the games wasn’t as adept with sniper rifles as other characters like Mordecai were.
12 The Bandits Use Catch-A-Ride Runner
Although Claptrap initially believes Lilith shot the bandits as an act of mercy towards the captured people, she reveals she did it primarily to steal the bandits’ transport. The vehicle is one of the Catch-A-Ride transports that are littered across Pandora in the games. The model of vehicle resembles the Runners.
The Runners were used by players in the original Borderlands, making traversing Pandora easier. The film implies that the Runners are still the creation of Scooter. There are signs littered across the world with his catchphrase of “Catch a Ride” in the film.
11 Scooter & Ellie Show Up In Sanctuary
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Borderlands includes a cameo appearance from Scooter and Ellie celebrating in Sanctuary alongside Moxxi. The two are far more important in the original games. Two of the children of Moxxi, Scooter and Ellie are engineers who construct many of the vehicles that can be used throughout the games.
Scooter debuted in the first game and was a memorable reoccurring character until his death in Tales From The Borderlands. His sister Ellie was introduced in Borderlands 2, and provided other vehicle resources to the Vault Hunters. Their cameo acknowledges their existence in the film’s universe.
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10 The DAHL Company Is All Over The Place
Image via Lionsgate
While the Atlas Company is a major threat throughout Borderlands, it’s far from the only mega-corporation within the universe. Throughout Borderlands, other companies can be seen referenced across locations like Sanctuary. However, among the most prominent is DAHL.
Another weapons and shield manufacturer in the game, it’s revealed during the Borderlands film that Lilith’s mother previously worked for them. It appears the film’s version of the company has abandoned Pandora much like the game equivalent, as many of the DAHL-branded objects are covered in dust or found among wreckage. This underscores Atlas’ power on Pandora in the film.
9 Acid Damage
In the Borderlands games, the various firearms are capable of dishing out different types of damage. This includes fire, electric, and acid damage. The green acid damage type is a particularly effective one against enemies.
While the guns of the Borderlands movie don’t seem to have those same elemental effects, the escape from the underground bandits does reference this kind of damage. While fleeing the horde of bandits, Roland shoots the pipes and sprays them with green chemical waste. This effectively dishes out plenty of acid damage as he can in the game.
8 ECHO
In Borderlands, access to the ECHO system is a minor but crucial ability that Claptrap brings to the table. Using that digital system, Lilith is able to locate Tina and continue the plot of the film. Tannis also uses the system as a means of locating the Vault Key and later the Vault itself.
The ECHOnet was a key tool in the original Borderlands game as well. It serves primarily as a form of wireless communication throughout Pandora. The film turns ECHO into an overarching technological answer.
7 Fyrestone
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The first location Lilith ends up in Borderlands when she returns to Pandora should be familiar to fans of the original game. Fyrestone was the first setting players encountered while making their way through the game. The layout of the area is similar, including the remains of a few businesses.
However, the version of the town that appears in the film appears almost completely abandoned. While Fyrestone wasn’t a bustling metropolis in the game, it did introduce players to some important supporting NPCs who lived nearby, including Claptrap and Dr. Zed (who doesn’t have a notable role in the film).
6 Sanctuary
Image via Lionsgate
Sanctuary ends up being a crucial location in Borderlands. It serves as Tannis’ home and a safe haven for the Vault Hunters to regroup after escaping the Crimson Lance. Sanctuary is also the name of an important settlement in the game series.
However, its role is different. While the massive city is established before the heroes arrive in the film, it was only mentioned in the first game. The Sanctuary introduced in Borderlands 2 was actually the base of operations for the Crimson Raiders, the splinter group formed by Roland.
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5 The Bus Ride With Marcus
The opening to Borderlands puts players aboard a bus driven by Marcus. This sets the tone for the game by describing the world of Pandora and the mission of the Vault Hunters. Although it isn’t the opening of the film, Borderlands does reference this beat by having Lilith get a ride on Marcus’ bus.
She repeatedly tries to convince him she’s not a Vault Hunter, but he playfully ignores her denials. Marcus later appears in Sanctuary in his other role as an independent weapons seller. However, the Vault Hunters never procure any weapons from him.
4 Firearm Vending Machines
The world of Borderlands is one full of danger and murder, with one of the best little reminders of that scattered around Pandora being the firearm vending machines. Operated by characters like Marcus, the vending machines serve as reload stations in the game as players travel the planet.
One of these vending machines is seen in Borderlands while the main heroes are in Sanctuary, with Claptrap even flirting with one. The vending machines having a form of consciousness to shut down his flirtations is an addition of the film. In the games, the venidng machines typically repeat phrases by their owners.
3 Krom
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A minor villain in Borderlands, Krom is a leader of the bandits. Teased through grafiti throughout the film, Krom appears at the end of the movie alongside the rest of Atlas’ forces. He fights against the heroes and almost kills Tina before being brought down by Krieg.
Krom was a minor boss in the first Borderlands game. A former prison warden for DAHL, Krom eventually became a high-ranking member of the bandit forces commanded by Flynt. Notably, Krom’s original design is very different in the film, which is more reminiscent of Captain Flynt from Borderlands 2.
2 Atlas’ Shields
During the final conflict of Borderlands, Atlas uses his advanced technology to protect himself. This includes a new form of shield generator which proves capable of easily ignoring gunfire. The shields are a major part of the Vault Hunter’s loadout in the Borderlands games.
They provide additional protection for the players while going up against hordes of enemies. Similar to the firearms in the Borderlands games, the Shields can come with unique elemental defenses. The shields of the film appear to be a much more recent development that only Atlas has access to.
1 The Destroyer In The Vault
The final boss of the original Borderlands game, the Destroyer is a powerful and menacing alien creature who is revealed to have been locked away by the Erridians eons ago. The Destroyer doesn’t factor much into the final battle of the Borderlands film, however. The main final conflict is between the Vault Hunters and Atlas.
However, the tentacles of the Destroyer do appear while Lilith, Tina, and Atlas are within the Vault. Lilith leaves Atlas for the Destroyer, who is implied to kill him. It’s a clever way for Borderlands to reference the game’s ending without recreating it.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl – all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
Director Eli Roth Release Date August 9, 2024 Studio(s) Arad Productions , Picturestart Writers Eli Roth , Joe Crombie Cast Cate Blanchett , Kevin Hart , Jack Black , Ariana Greenblatt , Florian Munteanu , Jamie Lee Curtis , Edgar Ramirez , Gina Gershon Franchise(s) Borderlands Expand