Borderlands star Florian Munteanu opens up about how the movie's Krieg will be different from the games and hints at its release date. Munteanu stars in the film as Krieg, also known as Krieg the Psycho, who serves as the musclebound and rhetorically challenged protector to Ariana Greenblatt's Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist. The duo are recruited alongside Kevin Hart's elite mercenary Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis' borderline insane scientist Dr. Tannis and Jack Black's wisecracking robot Claptrap by Cate Blanchett's infamous outlaw Lilith to find the missing daughter of powerful businessman Atlas.
Rather than a direct adaptation of the games, the Borderlands film will be set in a separate universe from the Gearbox franchise. Development on the adaptation first began in 2015 as Lionsgate paired with Ari and Avi Arad to produce a film, though didn't gain any traction until early 2020 when Eli Roth signed on to direct the film from a screenplay penned by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Production officially got underway this past April and wrapped in June.
Ahead of the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Munteanu caught up with Screen Rant and discussed his upcoming turn in Borderlands as Krieg. In discussing his take on the character, the actor revealed the film's version will differ a bit from what fans know in the games, but believes audiences will still get enjoy the portrayal. See what Munteanu said below:
"I mean, the character Krieg is such a fan-favorite and I feel like what [fans] saw in the game, or what they are used to seeing in the game, they can’t expect exactly the same. I’m bringing my fighting style to the table as well as a humoristic way of playing the character. I think people will love it. But we’ll have to wait until next year for that."
The decision to set the film in a separate universe from the Borderlands games may have initially created some skepticism from fans of the series but is a smarter creative decision than a direct adaptation. With previous video game adaptations deviating drastically from their source material, namely Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil franchise, and alienating their fan bases for doing so puts the film on a better path to introducing the world of Borderlands to newcomers as well as longtime fans. While Claptrap and Handsome Jack may be the more well-known characters from the games, the psycho class of characters including Krieg are similarly well-known for gracing the covers of all but one game.
Given the tone of the Borderlands games frequently hewed towards a darkly comedic view, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear Munteanu describe his take on the character as "humoristic" but his promise of bringing his own fighting style to Krieg is an intriguing tease. Additionally, it's interesting to note that Munteanu says audiences will have to wait until next year to see the film as Lionsgate has yet to confirm a release date for it, though with production having wrapped in June, the timing does work out accordingly. Only time will tell when Borderlands will arrive next year or later.