Every now and then, a big-name, award-winning actor will be listed in a project that doesn’t quite fit their image. And while a surprise is all well and good, one can’t help sometimes but to bring up the golden question of ‘why?’. It’s a fair question to ask Cate Blanchett, who’s been tapped to star in Eli Roth’s upcoming Borderlands live-action movie, especially with the numerous awards under her belt, including two Oscars, four Golden Globes, four BAFTAs, and three SAG accolades.
The reason, she shared with Empire, can be traced back to beating boredom during the pandemic lockdowns. In a special feature about the adaption, the Australian actor talked about her enjoyment of playing “crazy roles” that one wouldn’t expect her to take, and how “Covid madness” came into the picture.
“I think there also may have been a little Covid madness. I was spending a lot of time in the garden, using the chainsaw a little too freely. My husband said, ‘This film could save your life,'” said Blanchett.
In preparation for her role as Lilith, she purchased a PlayStation 5 and dove head-first into the Borderlands games. “My thumbs can barely control a phone, but I bought a PS5 and we played each other,” she revealed. “I wanted to know the limits of the game and what fans loved about the character. I got really absorbed in that whole world. The cosplayers. The YouTube make-up tutorials.”
Joining Blanchett on the silver screen is a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Kevin Hart as Roland, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Gina Gershon as Mad Moxxi, and Jack Black as Claptrap. Borderlands will hit theatres on 8 August after nearly 10 years of work, beginning production only in 2020 when Roth was confirmed as the director.
“Returning to her home planet, an infamous outlaw forms an unexpected alliance with a team of unlikely heroes”, read the synopsis for the film. “Together, they battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find a missing girl who holds the key to unimaginable power.”
The original game was released in 2009 by Gearbox Software, sparking the start of a highly-successful looter-shooter franchise. It sold over 77 million copies as of November 2022, with Borderlands 3 coming in as the latest mainline entry.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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