American comedian Kevin Hart has agreed to play the role of Roland in the upcoming film adaptation of the popular RPG/looter-shooter, after long negotiations.
The news was revealed on the official Borderlands Facebook account, with the company behind the popular franchise, Gearbox software, saying “Welcome to the Borderlands family Kevin Hart”, followed by a link to an American press report from The Hollywood Reporter, detailing the events.
This would not be the first time that Hart makes his debut on a big-screen video-game adaptation, after appearing in 2 successful Jumanji films, though there is still some big questions from fans of the franchise as to whether Hart will be the right person to fit the role of a serious character, based on his specialization as a comedian.
Eli Roth, the director behind the Borderlands movie, assured fans by saying in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin, 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.
Although little has been unveiled about the upcoming movie such as a release date or a plot, it is thought that the movie will be set around the time-period of borderlands 1 or 2 on the fictional planet of Pandora.
Another star already listed for starring in the movie is Cate Blanchett, who made her claim to fame in Lord of the Rings as Galadriel, making her last popular appearance in the Marvel universe film; Thor Ragnarok. Cate is set to play Lilith, Roland’s red-headed vault hunter comrade, otherwise known as “The Firehawk” in Borderlands 2.
The script will be written by Craig Mazin, known for his work on the critically acclaimed HBO TV show ‘Chernobyl’, And Aaron Berg who is relatively new to the world of script writing but has also been selected to write the new script for the GI Joe movie.
Borderlands has been one of Gearbox software’s best sellers with over 8 million copies of their last title Borderlands 3 being sold, and 22 million copies of arguably the best game in the series, Borderlands 2, it is clear to see why the world of Borderlands would be made into a movie. With many fans longing for a movie since the second game came out in 2012, it might not be too much longer before their wishes are fulfilled. Though whether Kevin can pull off the role of Roland and branch out to a new acting style, remains to be seen.