Borderlands movie star says "dealing with Marvel and Star Wars" fans helped her prepare for the video game fandom: "As a fan myself, I get the connection that they have"
Aug. 5, 2024Exclusive: Ariana Greenblatt talks the pressures that come with starring in the first live-action Borderlands adaptation
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Borderlands star Ariana Greenblatt is no stranger to fandoms – and didn’t feel too much pressure when filming the live-action video game adaptation.
“For some reason, I’m always thrown into the fandom. I’ve dealt with the Marvel and the Star Wars people, and I love them with my whole heart. So diving into this one, I was like, all right, I’m ready,” Greenblatt tells GamesRadar+.
“But I understand, as a fan myself, I get kind of the connection that they have to these characters and these kind of worlds that you might spend so much time in. I definitely went out of my way to ask fans of the game myself before I went to go film, and ask what they really loved about it,” she continues. “But, you know, it’s also such a longer format of what they’re used to. It’s like they play the game and they see these kind of characters come and go, but you’re sitting and you’re watching them live in real time for so long.”
Greenblatt plays Tiny Tina, a 13-year-old demolitions specialist – who, in the video game sphere, had her own wildly successful spin-off game. The actor also brought Young Gamora to life in Avengers: Infinity War and Young Ahsoka in the Star WarsDisneyPlus series. In short, the actor has dealt with not one, but two of the fiercest fandoms in the pop culture game.
Borderlands, directed by Eli Roth from a screenplay he penned with Joe Crombie, sees Lilith (Cate Blanchett) reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to retrieve a bounty – who is none other than 13-year-old Tiny Tina. There she meets up with Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Roland (Kevin Hart), Claptrap (Jack Black), and Dr. Patricia Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis). Together they embark on a dangerous journey to save the fate of the universe.
“It was finding that balance between having humanity in these characters that are that are watchable for the people that have no idea what the game are, and then also have those nostalgic factors of the people who do know the game and love the game, and finding that kind of middle ground is important.”
Borderlands hits theaters on August 9. For more, check out our ever-growing list ofupcoming video game adaptations, or, check out our chat withGearbox CEO Randy Pitchford about the Borderlands Cinematic Universe.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will have many post-credit scenes, and fans are already predicting which characters will show up
New trailer for Snow White live-action remake teases a twist to the classic Disney fairy tale as star Rachel Zegler sings an original song
Cyberpunk 2077’s surprise car customization update was co-developed by the Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake devs, lets you lower your wanted level on the fly GTA-style
