Just a few days after adding Golden Globe winner Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) to the cast, Eli Roth’s Borderlands continues to expand its roster and set up a reunion between the House With a Clock in Its Walls filmmaker and Jack Black as the star has signed on to portray the beloved robot companion Claptrap. The film also marks a reunion between Jumanji stars Black and Kevin Hart.
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“I am so excited to reunite with Jack, this time in the recording booth,” Roth said in a statement. “Claptrap is the funniest character in the game, and Jack is perfect to bring him to the big screen.”
“We couldn’t have been more in sync with our filmmakers and casting executives as we approached this role,” Nathan Kahane, President of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, added in a statement. “It’s one of the biggest no-brainer casting decisions we’ve ever made. Everyone who’s ever played the game knows Jack is perfect for this part. We’re thrilled he will add his endless comic energy and voice to our film – he’ll bring so much to the movie.”
It was announced in May 2020 that Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett (Carol, Blue Jasmine, The Aviator) will lead the cast as Lilith, a siren and legendary thief equipped with magical skills, while last month brought word that Hart signed on to star as ex-soldier-turned-mercenary Roland. Curtis will play Tannis, an archeologist on Pandora who might have the key to finding the vault, but whose complicated history with Lilith (Blanchett) isn’t going to help.
Based on the bestselling PC and console gaming experience from developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K, a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Borderlands will be produced by Avi Arad and Ari Arad, who produce through their Arad Productions banner, and Erik Feig, through PICTURESTART, who have shepherded the project and overseen development, including the latest draft of the screenplay by the two-time Emmy-winning screenwriter Craig Mazin. The film’s executive producers are Randy Pitchford, executive producer of the Borderlands video game franchise and founder of the Gearbox Entertainment Company, and Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.
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Borderlands is one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, with more than 57 million units sold-in worldwide, including over 22 million units of Borderlands 2, which is the highest-selling title in the history of 2K. The most recent installment, Borderlands 3, which launched in September 2019, already sold-in nearly 8 million units worldwide and was honored with the award for “Best Multiplayer Game” at Gamescom.
(Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
