Is Handsome Jack in the ‘Borderlands’ movie?

As with all video game adaptations, there has been some heated discourse surrounding the Borderlands film. Directed by horror icon, Eli Roth, the film struggled through development before finally being slated for release in 2024. Borderlands is based on the widely popular sci-fi first-person shooter of the same name and is admittedly not the easiest property to adapt. The first game is largely considered the weakest, with only a general overarching plot and no emotional character arc. Borderlands 2 is an entirely different matter, and that has a lot to do with the villainy of charismatic dictator, Handsome Jack.

Similar to the first game, players select a vault hunter to play as they traverse the dangerous planet of Pandora. But their journey is much more character-driven. You still shoot up bandits and psychos, but you also have to contend with Handsome Jack’s nefarious plots. As the game progresses, you realize his megalomania comes from a strangely human place. Like everyone else, he has things that he cares about and believes he is righteous.

The difference is, that he goes to extreme lengths to protect and preserve the things he feels entitled to. On top of that, his personality is extremely engaging with laugh-out-loud dialogue. Handsome Jack has a special place in players’ hearts, making many wonder if he will join the other characters appearing in the Borderlands movie.

Will Handsome Jack appear in Borderlands?

Already, the Borderlands film seems to be a little chaotic. Though the storyline about hunting down the vault appears to be from the first game, the film is populated with Borderlands 2 characters. Roland (Kevin Hart) and Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) send you on main missions and side quests alike in the game and appear prominently in the trailer. So does that stand to reason that the unforgettable villain from the game will appear? Don’t rule it out.

The main antagonist of the film appears to be Atlas (Édgar Ramírez), who hires Lilith (Cate Blanchett) to find his missing daughter. The storyline appears to stay close to the first game’s territories, but that doesn’t mean the Borderlands production won’t throw audiences a bone. Writer for Borderlands 2, Anthony Burch, held out hope that the infamous dictator will have a chance to shine in the film, posting on X (formerly Twitter): “I just realized there’s a 60% chance the borderlands movie ends with some sort of handsome jack tease.”

Gearbox head, Randy Pitchford, replied, alluding to the fact that there may be potential in a post-credit sequence. The MCU has made such scenes an expectation — especially in franchise films — so the odds seem to be in Borderlands fans’ favor. Jack could end up in a post-credit scene, setting up for a sequel. Of course, betting on a sequel film is counting your chickens before they hatch, but what is the point of life if we can’t dream a little?