Gearbox Teases the Return of Handsome Jack in First Borderlands 3 DLC
While the Calypso Twins were great villains in Borderlands 3, it was always going to be an impossible task to live up to Handsome Jack, the series’ most iconic villain. Despite his death – and the subsequent destruction of an AI version of the villain – it seems that some form of the charismatic psychopath might be set to return. A new teaser, released today by Gearbox, offers a glimpse at the first Borderlands 3 campaign DLC. Moreover, it teases the return of both Hyperion and a holographic Handsome Jack…
The First Borderlands 3 Campaign DLC
In many ways, the success of Borderlands may well be due in large part to the character of Handsome Jack. As the villain of Borderlands 2, his role vastly improved the formula of the first game, and heavily influenced the style of the entire franchise. He was so popular in fact that, even after his death, he made his return as a key character in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. He even made a third appearance in Tales From the Borderlands as a digital copy of the dead character’s mind.
While players did eventually have the choice whether or not to destroy the chip containing that copy, it has generally been presumed that destroying it was the canonical decision. Indeed, with Borderlands 3, Gearbox introduced the Calypso Twins as new villains and made very little mention of the former Hyperion CEO. However, it seems as though Handsome Jack may be set to make some sort of return in the first Borderlands 3 campaign DLC. (At least in a holographic form, though it’s unknown as of yet if this hologram is as sentient as his last iteration.)
Gearbox announced today that a full reveal for this upcoming DLC will be unveiled at 8:00 AM PST on the 20th of November, in a few days’ time. Episode 3 of the Borderlands Show will also go live online at that time, featuring more details about the DLC. It’s unknown exactly when that DLC will launch. However, in their announcement blog post, Gearbox did state that it would be launching; “later this year”. As such, it’s likely that it may launch in early-December, once the Bloody Harvest event comes to an end.