There’s no two ways about it; the Borderlands movie did not hit the way it should have. After years in development hell, the movie struggled to find an audience when it finally released last year. Critics did not care for it and fans of the series found the characters unrecognizable from their source material counterparts. In a lot of ways, it’s probably something best moved on from and left in the past, but amidst the disappointment, there may be a nugget of gold for the franchise to capitalize on.
The Borderlands movie’s bizarre decision to diverge from the games’ canon was a big factor in why it was such a big miss for longtime fans, but it also gave audiences a chance to see characters interact that normally wouldn’t in the source material. One of these character pairings, while seemingly the most nonsensical, could be adapted into the games fairly easily given each characters’ trajectory throughout the series. Plus, some would argue the groundwork for the connection these two share was laid down as early as Borderlands 2.
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If Any of Borderlands’ Old Vault Hunters Becomes Playable Again, It Should Be Krieg
Each new Borderlands game brings new playable Vault Hunters, but the next entry in the series should consider letting players go back in Krieg’s head.
Tina and Krieg May End Up Becoming Closer Friends in Borderlands 4
Krieg and Tina May Bond Over Their Personal Losses
Tina and Krieg were two of the breakout characters from Borderlands 2, and they remain fan favorites years after the fact. The Borderlands live-action film saw these two as an unlikely pair of friends finding each other on Pandora, which isn’t too far off from how they meet in the context of Borderlands 2. In the movie, however, the two are much closer, with Krieg acting as an unofficial bodyguard for the wayward pre-teen. This dynamic worked well enough for the movie, but it might be more at home in the games than most realize.
After Roland’s death in Borderlands 2, Tina was left without her friend and father figure. Her grief surrounding the loss was a massive part of her surprisingly deep character development in the acclaimed Assault on Dragon Keep DLC. Similarly, after the events of Borderlands 3, Krieg was left without his friend Maya, who kept him (relatively) anchored in reality as he struggled with his insanity.
Both characters have experienced loss in fundamental ways. It’s not the most out there idea to think that they could gravitate toward each other. Tina, though certainly no longer in need of any sort of protection, could do well with another friend like Krieg, who himself would probably benefit from having a friend who could, like Maya, help keep him from succumbing to his more psychotic tendencies. It would be a heartwarming little friendship to see organically form between two fan-favorite Borderlands characters, and it could go even further if Gearbox finally confirmed one longstanding fan theory about the two’s relationship.
Borderlands 4 Could Confirm One Long-Running Fan Theory about Krieg and Tiny Tina
There’s a long-standing fan theory that Krieg is actually Tina’s father; or rather what’s left of him after Hyperion experiments. Several of Krieg’s sane voice lines in Borderlands 2 refer to him looking for someone, hoping that she’s safe. These lines have never been given any sort of proper resolution, and scenes from his backstory in his own Borderlands 3 DLC depict him having a wife and daughter in his past life as a normal man. Granted, the evidence for this theory is purely circumstantial, but at a certain point, the sheer volume of things that point to this being the case seems to add up.
The largest evidence against the theory of Krieg being Tina’s father are comments made by Gearbox staff explicitly denouncing the theory. But anyone who remembers Arkham Knight‘s launch and the mystery around the titular villain’s identity knows that sometimes developers like to misdirect audiences to keep major story twists under wraps. There’s plenty of reason and evidence to support the theory, and ultimately it could result in some meaningful development for two characters who’ve been defined by loss.
Tina has been hardened by Pandora. Despite her mental instability, she’s an ironclad badass in her own right and there’s a strong argument to be made that Tina should eventually be a playable Vault Hunter herself. But ultimately she became the character everyone knows and loves because she lost her parents at such an early age. Krieg is the way he is because he lost just about everything there was to lose; his family, his mind, and eventually the only friend who was keeping him tethered and grounded. Since these characters have both lost so much, it would be nice to see them get a chance at something resembling a happy ending by finding each other. Regardless of whether Krieg is positioned as a friend or family member, it would be nice to see the games work in one of the few strengths of the film, as long as their bond is written well.
Borderlands
Borderlands is an action RPG first-person shooter created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. The series is commonly called a looter shooter set in a space Western style, where players can select from multiple classes that can level up and acquire new skills. The franchise has quickly become one of the best-selling franchises and produced spin-offs like Tales from the Borderlands as well as a film adaptation being developed by Lionsgate.