There have been plenty of great video game adaptations over the last few years, such as Uncharted, the Mortal Kombat reboot, as well as the TV adaptation of The Last of Us on HBO. And now, we’re getting close to Borderlands, which has been in development since 2015 and has been making steady progress forward.
Horror heavyweight Eli Roth is directing the Borderlands movie so clearly there’s some major talent behind the cameras of this project. But who’s making up the on-camera talent for this film adaptation of the popular sci-fi, first-person shooter video game series from Gearbox Software and 2K Games? Let’s go over the actors who will star in Borderlands.
Cate Blanchett (Lilith)
Cate Blanchett’s casting was announced first in May 2020 by Entertainment Weekly, where it was confirmed that Blanchett would star as Lilith, a siren thief. As far as major franchises go, Blanchett is best known for playing Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Hela in Thor: Ragnarok and Lou in Ocean’s 8. In 2022, she received her second Academy Award nomination for her leading role in Tár.
Kevin Hart (Roland)
In January 2021, it was confirmed by Variety that Kevin Hart would star alongside Blanchett. Hart has been cast as Roland, a skilled soldier who used to serve the Crimson Lance, the private military of the Atlas Corporation. Kevin Hart has starred in the last two Jumanji movies, Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level, as the Franklin “Mouse” Finbar avatar, and Hart also collected some action-related experience on Central Intelligence andThe Man from Toronto. So Borderlands will be relatively familiar territory for him. Kevin Hart recently had a comedy special premiere on Peacock in July 2023, but I can’t wait to see him back in action in a movie.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Tannis)
In early February 2021, it was announced by Deadline that Jamie Lee Curtis was cast in Borderlands. She’ll take part in this video game adaptation as Dr. Patricia Tannis, an archaeologist specializing in Eridian artifacts and technology who provides missions to the players and assists the Vault Hunters.
Following her reprisal of Laurie Strode in 2018’s Halloween and its two sequels, as well as her turn as Linda Drysdale-Thrombrey in Knives Out, Curtis has gone on to do so much more in the film industry. She even won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2023 for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The official description for Curtis’ version of Tannis states that she may have the key to finding the sought-after vault containing priceless treasures on Pandora, but her complicated relationship with Cate Blanchett’s Lilith will cause problems. Jamie Lee Curtis has talked about her time as Tannis pretty often, even offering first glimpses at her character for fans to see.
Jack Black (Claptrap)
Also in early February 2021, it was confirmed by Deadline that Jack Black joined the cast of Borderlands. Look at that, Borderlands is also serving as a Jumanji reunion!
Jack Black also took part in Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level by playing the Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon avatar, and you might have also seen him starring in the Goosebumps movies or The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which was directed by Eli Roth.
For Borderlands, Black will voice Claptrap, an overenthusiastic robot manufactured by the Hyperion corporation that’s been met with mixed reception by Borderlands players over the years. Still, it wouldn’t feel like a Borderlands story without Claptrap involved, so maybe Black’s performance might improve the character’s reputation. And after his well-received performance of Bowser from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it feels like he’ll do just fine in this voice role.
Ariana Greenblatt (Tiny Tina)
Announced by The Hollywood Reporter in early March 2021, it was confirmed that Ariana Greenblatt joined the cast as Tiny Tina, an unstable, teenaged explosives expert who’s seeking revenge against the man who sold her and her parents to be experimented on by the Hyperion corporation. She may be the youngest cast member in Borderlands, but Ariana Greenblatt has assembled an impressive filmography over the last several years, from starring in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle to playing Young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War, and in 2023, she had a co-starring role in the hit Barbie movie, which continues to impress in theaters.
Florian Munteanu (Krieg)
Also announced in early March 2021 by The Hollywood Reporter was that Boxer Florian Munteanu was cast in Borderlands, where he will play Krieg, who’s described by THR as “the musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector of Tiny Tina.” So expect Munteanu and Ariana Greenblatt to share a lot of screen time with each other.
Munteanu made the jump to acting in 2018 playing Ivan Drago’s son, Viktor, in Creed II, and also appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Most recently, he returned to the Creed franchise for Creed III in 2023.
Haley Bennett (TBA)
According to IGN in mid-March 2021, it was confirmed that Haley Bennett would co-star in Borderlands, but unlike the other people who’ve been listed so far, Haley Bennett isn’t playing a character who originated from the Borderlands video games, but has instead been tapped for a brand-new role. The only details that have been provided about this mysterious individual is that they’ll be "key to the past of Cate Blanchett’s character, Lilith." Bennett’s notable credits include The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven, The Girl on the Train, The Devil All the Time, Till, She Is Love and Cyrano.
Édgar Ramirez (Atlas)
As if there wasn’t enough on Pandora to give Borderlands’ heroes trouble, there will also a villain further complicating things. Édgar Ramirez, who’s appeared in movies like The Bourne Ultimatum, Zero Dark Thirty and Bright, has been cast as Atlas, a business titan and arms manufacturer. With Atlas’ daughter missing on Pandora, Cate Blanchett’s Lilith is hired to retrieve the girl, who may hold they key to unimaginable power. Atlas already fits the antagonist mold by pitting so many parties against one another in the Borderlands universe, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Atlas isn’t so much concerned about his daughter’s well-being as wanting to obtain this mysterious power.
Olivier Richters (Krom)
Revealed by IGN in early April 2021, it was confirmed that Olivier Richters was cast as Krom, the leader of the psycho bandits that rule Pandora, making it an even more chaotic environment. This is the latest high-profile project that Richters, a pro bodybuilder, has lined up. He appeared in Black Widow, followed by The King’s Man, the Kingsman franchise’s World War I prequel. Richters also scored a role in the Gareth Evans-created series Gangs of London.
Janina Gavankar (Commander Knoxx)
Here’s another actor joining Borderlands who won’t be playing an established character from the video games. Janina Gavankar has come aboard to play Commander Knoxx, although as of right now, it’s unclear where her allegiances lie. TV viewers might recognize Gavankar from shows like The League, True Blood, Sleepy Hollow, The Mysteries of Laura and The Morning Show, while on film, she’s popped up in Blindspotting and The Way Back.
Gina Gershon (Moxxi)
In late-April 2021, several stars were announced to round out Borderlands cast from Deadline, and one of those was Gina Gershon, who is playing Moxxi. There’s no question that Mad Moxxi, the hostess of the Colosseum matches in the Underdome, is one of the most recognizable characters from the Borderlands video game series, so to have her sit out the Borderlands movie would have been a baffling decision. Gershon has appeared in movies and TV shows like Showgirls, Face/Off, The Insider, Rescue Me and Riverdale. In 2023, she had a guest role on Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens.
Cheyenne Jackson (Jakobs)
In that same Deadline article from late April we learned that Cheyenne Jackson was confirmed to simply play a character named Jakobs. In the Borderlands video game universe, Jakobs is a weapons manufacturer that primarily churns out firearms styled after Old Western guns. The company is a family business, and evidently in the Borderlands movie, we’ll meet at least one of those individuals. It hasn’t been clarified yet which Jakobs Jackson will bring to life, though assuming he’s not popping up in flashbacks, it’s likely he’ll be the current CEO of the weapons company. The actor has appeared in shows such as American Horror Story, Glee, Call Me Kat and more.
Charles Babalola (Hammerlock)
If you’ve seen movies like The Legend of Tarzan or Gretel & Hansel, or TV shows like Broadchurch or Thirteen, then you’re familiar with Charles Babalola. For the Borderlands movie, he’s been brought aboard as Hammerlock, or Sir Hammerlock in the video games. Hammerlock is distinguishable by his Victorian fashion (including a monocle) and his artificial appendages. It’s unclear if Babalola’s version of Hammerlock will look similar to his video game counterpart or if they’re going in a different visual direction with the character.
Benjamin Byron Davis (Marcus)
In the Deadline article from late-April 2021, it was announced that Benjamin Byron Davis would play Marcus, who is an arms dealer in the video games and shows no mercy towards those who interfere with his business. Davis has been around the movies and TV block, with appearances ranging from The Belko Experiment and Ant-Man and the Wasp to Bones and How I Met Your Mother. If film Marcus is anything like the one from the games, the main characters will need to be careful not to get on his bad side.
Steven Boyer (Scooter)
Alongside several other cast members, Steven Boyer was announced from that late-April 2021 Deadline article, where he would play Scooter, the son of Mad Moxxi and a mechanic who provides her services at various warehouses on Pandora in the video games. Presumably he’ll be just as handy with machinery on the big screen. Along with appearing in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, Bridge of Spies and Hustlers, Steven Boyer has assembled an impressive lineup of TV credits, such as Trial & Error, Chicago Fire and two of the FBI shows.
Ryann Redmond (Ellie)
The late-April 2021 Deadline article also reported that Ryann Redmond would play Ellie, Mad Moxxi’s daughter and Scooter’s sister who also has a lot of mechanical experience under her belt. You may not be familiar with Ryann Redmond from movies or TV shows, but she’s proven herself as a tremendous talent on stage. For instance, she originated the role of Bridget in Bring It On the Musical, and she also had a brief tenure as Olaf in the Frozen musical.
Bobby Lee (Larry)
Last but not least from that Deadline article from late-April 2021, it was confirmed that Bobby Lee would have a role in Borderlands, where he, like Haley Bennett and Janina Gavankar, isn’t playing an established character in Borderlands. Instead, he’s been cast in the new role of Larry, though no details were provided about him. So while it’s easy enough for fans of the Borderlands video games to deduce how the other characters will play into the narrative, when it comes to Larry, they’ll be just as much in the dark as the newbies.
Borderlands has a release date of August 9, 2024, according to Deadline, which was announced at the 2023 Comic-Con in San Diego, so now we’re almost a year away. I can’t wait to see what this epic video game adaptation has to offer – and honestly, I just need to see a trailer right now.
