Who’s ready to head into the world of Borderlands?
In an ET exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming film, cast members Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black and more are pulling back the curtain on the film adaptation of one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Borderlands follows bounty hunter Lilith (Blanchett), who reluctantly returns to her chaotic “dumpster fire” of a home planet, Pandora, on an important mission — to find the missing daughter of the powerful and dangerous Atlas (Edgar Ramírez). Along the way, she forms a ragtag team that includes mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart), oddball scientist Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), wisecracking robot Claptrap (Jack Black), feral young demolitionist Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) and her protector, Krieg (Florian Munteanu).
In the new featurette, Blanchett, 55, explains that the ragtag team becomes more of a “strange, dysfunctional family” as they embark on their mission and traverse Pandora. The label is backed up by one clip where Roland uses a very stern, dad-like voice with Tiny Tina.
“What did I tell you?” Hart’s character says to Greenblatt’s as she responds, “Minimal explosions.” He quickly yells back, “I said no explosions.”
According to Hart, stepping into the world of Borderlands required a serious and extensive “education” on the game. That also applied to the film’s director, Eli Roth, who said he had the privilege of getting to work with those who know the IP best.
“Directing Borderlands, luckily, I had the creators to take me through the game and years and years of Borderlands lore,” Roth says.
Much like the movie intends to, the teaser packs a punch, showing car chases, teleportation, hand-to-hand combat, a spaceship falling out of the sky and much more in just 90 seconds. There’s also a clip in which the gang drives through the throat of a massive monster.
For the actors at the center of the film, it was a no-brainer to sign onto the project as it comes with a built-in fanbase. The video game that the movie is based on has spawned two sequels and has sold more than 100 million copies across the franchise.
“I am so psyched to be portraying Claptrap, the legendary robot,” says Black, 54, as a clip shows his character wiping out two soldiers, yelling, “Step aside, b**ches.”
Curtis, 65, who is coming off her 2023 Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All at Once and is heavily favored to receive an Emmy nom for her guest-starring role in The Bear season 2, Borderlands has exactly what she is looking for in a project.
“It has pathos, it has humor, it has a lot of action,” the actress shares.
“I want people to go, ‘That is the best time I’ve had in a movie theater in years,'” Roth explains.
Watch another first-look clip of the film in the player below:
Borderlands also stars Gina Gershon, Cheyenne Jackson, Haley Bennett, Janina Gavankar, Bobby Lee, Olivier Richters, Charles Babalola, Benjamin Byron Davis, Steven Boyer, Ryann Redmond and Penn Jillette.
The film arrives in theaters on Aug. 9.
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