With Brothers in Arms and Borderlands developer Gearbox having recently filed for a quartet of "War Hero" trademarks, the studio today confirmed to Shacknews that the new franchise is "something down the road."

Explaining that the trademarks reveal "a bit about our interests in the development of another original intellectual property," Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford said that "we haven't even talked to any potential partners" in regards to War Hero.

"So we're certainly not ready to talk about it publicly at the moment," he noted.

Pitchford added that the studio is currently "all gaga" over its October-due shooter-RPG Borderlands, with attentions "focused squarely on kicking ass." Gearbox is also working on the long-awaited Aliens: Colonial Marines, due out no earlier than next year. In all, the studio has five projects in the works, with at least two of them remaining mysteries.

Update: Pitchford further tells us that War Hero is not among the three mystery projects currently listed on Gearbox's "games in development" page.

New trademark registrations from Gearbox Software seem to suggest that the company behind the World War II shooter series Brothers in Arms and Wii maraca-shaker Samba de Amigo is plotting (or at least protecting) a new "War Hero" franchise.

The studio recently filed for four trademarks related to that phrase--World War II Hero, War Hero, Brothers in Arms War Hero, and Modern War Hero--as noticed by superannuation. Each filing is listed under the general category of "computer game programs and computer game software."

At present, Gearbox has three mystery projects and two known titles--Borderlands and Aliens: Colonial Marines--in development. Borderlands (PC, PS3, 360) is slated to hit this October, while Aliens (PC, PS3, 360) is expected no earlier than next year.