Cate Blanchett in Talks to Star in ‘Borderlands’ Video Game Adaptation at Lionsgate
Cate Blanchett is in talks to star in the film adaptation of the video game “Borderlands” that is going forward at Lionsgate from director Eli Roth, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap. Lionsgate had no comment.
If the deal closes, Blanchett would play the role of Lilith in the film, one of the original video game’s several playable characters and protagonists.
Roth is directing the film from the most recent draft of the screenplay by “Chernobyl” screenwriter Craig Mazin. Roth is also producing, as are Avi Arad and Ari Arad, who are producing through their Arad Productions banner, and Erik Feig, through his PICTURESTART banner.
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Gearbox Software and 2K’s “Borderlands,” which was first announced as a movie as far back as 2015, is an irreverent and visceral first person shooter and role-playing game about four “Vault Hunters” on a planet called Pandora who battle against local bandits and marauders in their search for a hidden vault rumored to contain advanced alien technology. Lilith in the game trilogy belongs to the “Siren” class of warriors who is from the planet Dionysus and is one of only six women in the galaxy to contain unbelievable powers. Though she’s a playable character in the first game, she’s only a non-player character in the subsequent sequels.
The film’s executive producers are Randy Pitchford, executive producer of the Borderlands video game franchise and founder of Gearbox Software, and Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.
The three “Borderlands” games have sold more than 57 million units worldwide, including 22 million units of the 2012 game “Borderlands 2,” which still draws one million players every month. The most recent game “Borderlands 3” was released last September and has already sold 8 million copies.
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The two-time Oscar winner Blanchett currently stars in the series “Mrs. America” as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly during the Equal Rights Amendment movement in the 1970s. She’s also attached to star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” which was forced to shut down production due to the coronavirus.
Blanchett is represented by CAA and RGM Artists.
Variety was first to report the casting news.
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