Jamie Lee Curtis has joined Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart in the cast of “Borderlands,” the adaptation of the popular video game franchise that is set up at Lionsgate.
Curtis will play Tannis, an archeologist on Pandora who might have the key to finding the vault, but whose complicated history with Lilith (Blanchett) isn’t going to help.
Eli Roth is directing the film based on the video game franchise.
“Working with the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis has been a lifelong dream of mine, and I am so excited for her to bring her humor, warmth and brilliance to the role of Tannis,” Roth said in a statement.
The latest draft of the “Borderlands” screenplay is by Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”). Avi Arad and Ari Arad are producing through their Arad Productions banner, with Erik Feig also producing through PICTURESTART.
“Borderlands” is based on the PC and console trilogy from Gearbox Software and publisher 2K. The series is a visceral first-person shooter and roleplaying 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.
The “Borderlands” games have sold 66 million units sold-in worldwide, including over 24 million units of “Borderlands 2,” which is the highest selling title in the history of 2K. The most recent installment, “Borderlands 3,” launched in September 2019 and was recently released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. “Borderlands 3” has sold more than 11 million units worldwide and was honored with the award for Best Multiplayer Game at Gamescom 2019 and Best Ongoing Game at Gamescom 2020.
The film’s 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.
James Myers and Aaron Edmonds are overseeing the project on behalf of Lionsgate. Emmy Yu is overseeing the film for Arad Productions. Lucy Kitada and Royce Reeves-Darby are overseeing the project for PICTURESTART.
“The kind of talent we’ve been able to bring together for ‘Borderlands’ is a testament to the incredible script that Craig wrote and Eli’s vision for Pandora,” Lionsgate motion picture group president Nathan Kahane said in a statement. “Jamie is unique in that her characters have depth and gravitas, but are also always hugely entertaining — she commands the screen. At this point, Jamie is like family to us — after bringing so much to ‘Knives Out’ and hosting last summer’s ‘Lionsgate Live’ fundraiser to help theater workers, we could not be more thrilled to be working with her again.”
Jamie Lee Curtis last starred in “Knives Out” for Lionsgate, and she’ll next be seen in the “Halloween” reboot sequels “Halloween Kills” and “Halloween Ends.”
Robert Melnik negotiated the deal on behalf of Lionsgate.