Borderlands 3 Gave BL4 The Perfect Story Out It Shouldn’t Use

Highlights

• Borderlands 4 is officially in the works, exciting fans for the next chapter.
• Handsome Jack remains a standout antagonist in the series, posing a challenge for new villain characters.
• Gearbox has ways to bring back Handsome Jack in Borderlands 4, but this decision is creatively risky and could cause polarizing reactions.

Borderlands is getting ready to move into its next chapter. Though leaks and rumors previously swirled, developer Gearbox Software had been quiet about the status of the next major Borderlands project. That was until late this past March, when the studio officially gave word that Borderlands 4 was in the works, reassuring gamers and giving them good reason to look forward to where the next installment will take the series and aspiring Vault Hunters.

It’s been 5 years since the latest mainline entry in the acclaimed looter shooter franchise. While fans received some related entries and spin-offs after Borderlands 3, anticipation for the upcoming leg of the ongoing adventures on Pandora and the Borderlands galaxy at large is high. Borderlands 4 has the tall task of continuing on from the cliffhanger BL3 left off from, while updating and modernizing its core loops without sacrificing its identity. One of the biggest hurdles it may face is in presenting its new villain/s, as the series has struggled with outdoing the legendary figure of Handsome Jack. And while there exist some ways for Jack to technically return, it would probably be for the better if Gearbox let these lie unused.

Borderlands 4 Shouldn’t Play the ‘Bring Handsome Jack Back Card’ Even Though it Could

Handsome Jack Stands As One of Gaming’s Greatest Antagonists

Handsome Jack has achieved the status of a villain so good that it might be a Sisyphean task to attempt to create an antagonist as equally compelling. Borderlands has had its share of other entertaining and effective ones since, but Jack’s shadow has always loomed over each of them well after his official on-screen death at the climax of Borderlands 2. Borderlands: The Presequel featured Jack as the main NPC that players worked with through most of its campaign. Via its nature, The Presequel fleshed out Jack’s history and rise to villain in a rounded and meaningful manner, adding depth and facets to the character that explained and informed his deeds and plans seen in his later incarnations.

Borderlands 4 Having Handsome Jack Return Risks Relying on the Past Too Much

The discussion around whether Gearbox should employ some tactic or narrative justification for Handsome Jack’s return is a lively one, to say the least. Jack did appear in a “resurrected” AI form in Tales from the Borderlands, set between the events of the second and third titles, digitally haunting one of the main trio, Rhys, from literally beyond the grave. The bigger point that provides a handy loophole if Gearbox were to go in that direction, though, is Borderlands 3‘s Handsome Jackpot DLC. There, the character of Timothy Lawrence was a reluctant participant in Jack’s body double scheme, having been injected with his DNA and altered to physically resemble Jack too. The crux being that this could lead to Jack’s personality essentially overriding Timothy’s, and thus his full return.

While Gearbox could explain Jack’s resurfacing with this technicality, it may feel like shallowly retreading old territory, and could draw polarizing fan reactions. Jack’s story concluded pretty definitively, and even with his enduring popularity, it’s likely best to avoid trotting him out again. There are plenty of other avenues for a new villain, such as the long-teased seventh Siren in the Borderlands universe, which could potentially be the next major opposing force.

It’s a creative conundrum and difficult decision for the studio to ponder, as it is expected to advance the franchise formula for the modern era both in terms of gameplay, and its complex narrative and next antagonist. Still, as tempting as it might be to reach back into the old well and pull Jack out, hopefully the studio has something different, and satisfyingly surprising, in the works in this regard for Borderlands 4.