Borderlands 3's Lorelei Originated from a First Attempt at Lilith's Updated Model

Gearbox Software has introduced Borderlands 3 fans to many characters from the game, some of which are new while others are familiar faces. One of these new characters is Lorelei, an NPC found on one of the game's multiple planets, Promethea. Not much is known about the character yet other than the fact that she's got a punkish look with a matching attitude and works for Rhys, but after speaking with one of Borderlands 3's co-lead writers, we learned that her character was actually born from a first attempt at updating Lilith's model.

Lilith is a character Borderlands fans will be much more familiar with. First playable as one of the debut Vault Hunters in the original Borderlands, Lilith has stuck around since then and will similarly play a significant role in Borderlands 3. Her character model has changed over the years with her Borderlands 3 appearance updating her look the most. During the process of updating the character's model, Borderlands 3's co-lead writer Sam Winkler told ComicBook.com that the first stab at the update looked like Lorelei but that the model didn't fit the direction the team had in mind.

"One of my favorite new characters in Borderlands 3 is Lorelei, and she originated from a first stab at Lilith's updated model," Winkler said. "It was one of the first models that we made for the game and we're looking at it like, 'Oh man, this is really cool and punky and has a lot of attitude,' but as we're developing the script, it actually didn't fit the tone of where we wanted to take Lilith. So we ended up doing a different model for Lilith, but we had this fully-made model."

Winkler continued to say that the team already had the name Lorelei in mind for a different character at the time. After being inspired by a recent viewing of Attack the Block, Winkler was inspired to give the character a "street London vibe." The result is the character seen at 1:03 in the trailer above as she holds her own against an enemy on Promethea.

"That all came together in this sort of island misfit toys that was Lorelai," Winkler said. "Lorelai came together so well as this cohesive whole, and I'm so happy that we're able to use all those little bits and pieces."

We also learned from Winkler how Gearbox Software got Ice-T to voice a character in Borderlands 3 as well as how the writers balance the most heartbreaking moments with humor.

Borderlands 3 releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via the Epic Games Store on September 13th.