Fans got a look at Borderlands 4 in a trailer at the Game Awards amid other massive announcements for 2025, and the tone of the game seems to take the series in a different direction from the other titles. It is exclusively a first look, and the trailer might not be representative of the final product; however, this new, serious tone seems to have extended to the series' latest villain, The Timekeeper. If Gearbox sticks the landing with the villain this time, it could help fill a hole the series has suffered from ever since the iconic Handsome Jack's exit.

Although shown with a more serious tone, the new trailer shows off everything that fans of the series expect to see. There is a literal explosion and rainfall of guns, with this title likely boasting billions of weapons just like its predecessor, more Psychos than fans can shake a stick at, Vault Hunters (who ittedly look a little bland), and Claptrap (or CL4P-TP). Despite this, the villain looks to be different from the others and doesn't seem to prescribe to the usual jokes and comedy bits of their predecessors, bringing what seems to be a massive threat to Pandora.

Borderlands Has A Handsome Jack-Shaped Hole

It Needs To Be Filled To Help The Series Go Forward

Borderlands 4's official first look trailer showed off the Timekeeper, a character that seems to want to destroy Pandora's Bandit population, just like Handsome Jack, although it seems that this villain will have an association with the Vaults, rather than a corporation. The Timekeeper has big shoes to fill, considering how great a villain Handsome Jack was, so much so that the games' writing is still suffering from his death. Half the series is based around Jack, from his origin to his near-second coming, and that was when Borderlands was arguably at its peak.

Handsome Jack has a body double named Timothy Lawrence, who was playable in The Pre-Sequel and appears in Borderlands 3.

Although introduced and subsequently killed in Borderlands 2, Handsome Jack's appearance made him a fan favorite, due to his extreme charisma and status as a guy everyone loved to hate. He got an origin story with The Pre-Sequel and a pseudo-revival in the first Tales from the Borderlands, stealing the show in both. Not only was he hilarious, Handsome Jack became a layered character who players could understand, being a great display of the twisted hero trope, and no villain in the series since has been able to live up to him.

The Timekeeper needs to emulate the kind of gravitas and scene-stealing power that Handsome Jack had over the audience to make the story of Borderlands 4 worthwhile. Although not able to be as funny due to the more serious tone of the Borderlands 4 trailer, The Timekeeper will need to take command of scenes, possibly through interesting dialogue or by being someone that players fear. It is important that fans want more of The Timekeeper whenever on screen, rather than being forgettable like Borderlands 1's Commander Steele or annoying like the third entry's Calypso Twins.

The Timekeeper Needs To Work Where The Calypso Twins Failed

The Streamer Joke Did Not Help Borderlands 3

Although Borderlands 3 did well commercially, bringing both the aesthetic and gunplay of the series forward, it suffered from some lackluster writing, which was a common complaint of many fans. There were some odd writing choices in the game, from how returning characters were handled to giving the Calypso Twins (the villains) the personalities of exaggerated Twitch streamers. This proved to be grating quickly, and it did not help fans enjoy these villains anywhere near as much as Handsome Jack, who should be the standard for the series' villains going forward, even if it is somewhat unattainable.

Troy and Tyreen Calypso are the Calypso Twins, and leaders of the Children of the Vault cult, who replaced Bandit as a weapons manufacturer.

The Calypso Twins tried to be as funny and charismatic as Handsome Jack, but a mixture of the bit the characters were based on as well as some generally uninspired dialogue, led to the villains being hated in a way that the writers didn't want. Turning to a more serious villain might be the answer to avoid comparisons with both Handsome Jack and the Calypso Twins, while helping to give the series a much-needed great villain. Humor can always be found elsewhere in the Borderlands series, given how bombastic a lot of the characters are.

The Timekeeper will need to do some retroactive work to fix the damage the Calypso Twins have done, especially since there hasn't been a good villain since Handsome Jack, although it appears as if Gearbox has learned from its mistake. It doesn't seem like The Timekeeper can be as annoying as the Calypso Twins, although there is the danger of becoming forgettable and mediocre, like Commander Steele with the serious tone. Borderlands needs a great villain again and The Timekeeper will have to be that character if the series seeks to reach the same heights with its writing.

An Iconic Villain Could Make Borderlands 4 Great

Gameplay Improvements Are Practically Assured

Although people love the looter-shooter combat of the series, which has steadily improved from title to title, the first Tales from the Borderlands proved that the series can survive on without its gunplay because of its wit and humor. Heartfelt moments were rife in Tales from the Borderlands, with one of the most impactful being Handsome Jack begging Rhys not to kill him again, saying that there's nothing left after death. The writing is almost as important as the gameplay with Borderlands, and while the third title has great gunplay, its story leaves a lot to be desired.

With Borderlands, great gunplay is practically guaranteed, but if Borderlands 4 wants to bring the series back to the heights it enjoyed with Borderlands 2, it needs some great writing too, and the villain is the right place to start, given Handsome Jack's impact on the series. Perhaps expecting The Timekeeper to reach those standards is too much, but this latest villain needs to be closer to the standard of Handsome Jack than the Calypso Twins to give the game a chance. Borderlands might not be able to afford another game with mediocre writing.

In general, the more serious tone of this latest game is quite a gamble, considering that the series is known for being whimsical, wacky, and witty. The franchise has suffered from three projects with poor writing in recent years (Borderlands 3, New Tales from the Borderlands, and the film adaptation), and it needs a title to bring it back to its prime standards. The Timekeeper is where Borderlands 4 can improve on its predecessor the most from a writing perspective, and filling the Handsome Jack-shaped hole should be the top priority.

Source: Borderlands 4/YouTube