Funny man Kevin Hart has been tapped to play Roland in Eli Roth’s upcoming Borderlands movie, a live-action adaptation of Gearbox Software’s ultra-popular looter-shooter franchise. His hiring suggests that the film will have plenty of laughs based on his resume of hits such as Ride Along, but there may be some dramatic surprises in store for his long-time fans based on the director’s comments.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin,” said Roth. “Borderlands is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”
We learned last year that Cate Blanchett would be starring in Borderlands as Lilith, a “Siren” who harnesses magical abilities. Similar to Roland, Lilith is playable in the original Borderlands but relegated to NPC duties in Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
“I’m so lucky to have the amazing Cate Blanchett starring in Borderlands,” Roth said at the time of her casting. “We had the most incredible collaboration together on The House With a Clock in Its Walls, and I believe there’s nothing she can’t do. From drama to comedy and now action, Cate makes every scene sing. Working with her is truly a director’s dream come true, and I feel so fortunate that I get to do it again on an even bigger scale. Everyone brings their A-game to work with Cate, and I know together we’re going to create another iconic character in her already storied career.”
It isn’t clear when Borderlands will be released (IMDb has it listed in the pre-production stage) or what its plot might look like, but what we do know is that the last draft of the screenplay was written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, who’s also involved with HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us series.