Summary

• Behind the scenes drama may impact the Borderlands movie's success, despite exciting cast and on-screen promise.
• Craig Mazin's absence is concerning for Borderlands, as his expertise on video game adaptations could have been invaluable.
• While missing Mazin is a setback, Borderlands' unique characters and humor could still make it a successful adaptation.

New photos of the cast of the the cast is one of the most exciting parts of Borderlands, and everything on-camera so far seems promising.

While Borderlands has some reasons to be worried, from its director, Eli Roth, specifically to problems inherent to video game adaptations generally. One of the most concerning developments for Borderlands came from the writer's room, and it could be a missed opportunity for the film. Borderlands already has challenges to overcome, and behind the scenes drama only makes those obstacles worse.

Craig Mazin Has Distanced Himself From Borderlands

Craig Mazin, a showrunner for the hit video game adaptation The Last of Us, was previously credited as a co-writer for Borderlands. Mazin denied his involvement in Borderlands, though, which has caused concern about the quality of the writing and the movie as a whole. His involvement would have made the movie better, and the fact that Mazin publicly distanced himself from Borderlands means that the movie won't be able to benefit from his input. Creating a video game adaptation is already a daunting task, and Mazin's help would have been invaluable.

Craig Mazin's Involvement Could Have Been Great For Borderlands

Mazin could have added a lot to Borderlands, and his absence could be felt in the quality of the movie. Video game adaptations are notoriously difficult to make successfully, as evidenced by recent failures such as Assassin's Creed and Uncharted. Mazin is one of the few creators who was able to successfully adapt a video game with The Last of Us, and he could have used the same skills and strategies for Borderlands. He understands what makes video games so successful, and which aspects work best in a less interactive medium like film or television.

Video game adaptations are hard to pull off, but Borderlands has an advantage many other franchises lacked.

While not having Craig Mazin is certainly a hit to Borderlands' prospects for success, it doesn't guarantee the movie will be bad. Video game adaptations are hard to pull off, but Borderlands has an advantage many other franchises lacked. Many of the game series' most endearing qualities, like its stylistic visuals, unique characters, and sense of humor, could easily translate to film. Without Mazin, Borderlands will have a longer road to success, but it will be far from impossible.