Jack Black has joined Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart and Cate Blanchett in the feature adaptation of the video game Borderlands.
Eli Roth is directing Borderlands from a script by Emmy-winning Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Black will voice the role of Claptrap, a persistently sarcastic robot not invested in the survival of his teammates.
In Borderlands, Black will also reteam with Roth and Blanchett following their work together on the film The House with a Clock in Its Walls. “I am so excited to reunite with Jack, this time in the recording booth. Claptrap is the funniest character in the game, and Jack is perfect to bring him to the big screen,” director Roth said in a statement.
Most recently, Black reprised his role as Shelly Oberon in Jumanji: The Next Level, and will appear in the upcoming Apollo 10½: A Space Age Adventure for writer-director Richard Linklater. “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,” Nathan Kahane, president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, added in his own statement about the casting of Black.
In Borderlands, Blanchett is set to star as legendary thief Lilith, while Hart will play skilled soldier Roland and Curtis will fill the role of Tannis, an archeologist on Pandora.
The Borderlands video game series launched in 2009, with Gearbox Software and publisher 2K debuting the latest title, Borderlands 3, in September 2019. Avi Arad and Ari Arad are producing the feature adaptation via their Arad Productions banner. Erik Feig is producing through Picturestart.
The 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. Robert Melnik negotiated the deal on behalf of Lionsgate.
Black is represented by WME.