First announced in 2015, theBorderlandsmovie, adapted from the bestselling video game series, has recently added another member to what is very rapidly becoming a sprawling and not to mention, ensemble cast of actors. As announced during an episode ofPenn’s Sunday Schoolpodcast, magician and comedian Penn Jillette, of the duo Penn & Teller has joined the cast and will be flying to Budapest to shoot a few scenes for what Penn has described as a “very, very, very small part.”
Jillette’s acting career began with a role in 1985’sSavage Island, with other notable appearances inPenn & Teller Get Killed,Hackers,Fear and Loathing in Las Vegasand even a role inSharknado 3: Oh Hell No. As of this writing, the full details of Jillette’s character are unknown. However Penn did supply several small, tantalising details regarding his character: He’ll be appearing as a preacher officiating at a wedding. In trueBorderlandsstyle however, Jillette also added that there would be a fight (of course!) to interrupt the happy occasion, with the role culminating in Jillette’s as-yet-unnamed character finishing up in a “space paddywagon.”
Penn Jillettewill be joined by an impressive cast including Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis and Jack Black, on voiceover duty as mono-wheeled robot Claptrap. TheBorderlandsseries, created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games, began life in 2009 across multiple consoles, including the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows. Sequels and spin-offs have since followed across various forms of media including, but not limited to tabletop games, a comic series and even novels. Make no mistake; the lore of theBorderlandsseries is a rich vein to mine.
TheBorderlandsseries of video games is predominantly set on thefictional planet of Pandora(with the exception ofBorderlands: The Pre-Sequelbeing set on Elpis, the moon of Pandora), a planet infested with bandits, mercenaries for nefarious interstellar corporations and all manner of dangerous alien wildlife. The plot, for the largest part involves self-styled “Vault Hunters” traveling to the planet of Pandora in order to seek, and breach it’s fabled Vault.
The series is famous not only for loot-based shooting, but also for unapologetic violence, irreverent humour and often downright insane cast of characters - both heroes and antagonists alike.
Filming on theBorderlandsmovie officially began very recently, on April 21st 2021.Eli Roth, best known for his work in the horror genre with films such asCabin Fever,HostelandHostel 2will direct a screenplay written by Craig Mazin. This feels like a perfect match, given that Mazin’s writing credits lean heavily into the comedy genre, includingScary Movie 3andScary Movie 4, along withThe Hangover Part 2andThe Hangover Part 3.
While filmadaptations of video gameshave a questionable success rate to say the least, the extremely talented cast of actors and actresses starring in this film should do plenty to raise expectations for this project. Roth and his penchant for full-force gore, directing Mazin’s script could very well capture the madcap tone of comedy and violence that is the staple of every Borderlands video game installment.
Currently there is no word on a release date for the Borderlands movie, however we will of course be sure to update you with any and all breaking news. This news originated athttps://www.slashfilm.com/penn-jillette-joins-borderlands-movie-cast///film.
