Summary

• Borderlands features beloved characters from the franchise who may be a bit different, all while maintaining the game's spirit.
• Lilith, Roland, Tiny Tina, Krieg, and Claptrap form a rag-tag team on a mission filled with action and comedy.
• Notable actors like Blanchett and Black bring their charm to the ensemble, teasing a successful romp.

Even though much of the footage seems game-accurate, Eli Roth's Borderlands movie boasts characters who differ from their video game counterparts in some significant ways, all while retaining the singular spirit of the source material. Based on Gearbox's hugely popular game series of the same name, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy romp that centers on Lilith (Cate Blanchett), an infamous outlaw who returns to her homeworld of Pandora on a mission. However, unlike the first Borderlands game, Lilith isn't just a Vault Hunter. Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), the universe's most powerful person, wants her to find his daughter.

In order to complete the task at hand, Lilith forms an alliance with a team of misfits, including soldier and weapons expert Roland (Kevin Hart), unhinged teenage demolitions expert Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), the tough-as-nails bandit and Tina protector Krieg (Florian Munteanu), and the sarcastic robot Claptrap (voice of Jack Black). The film's unlikely heroes face off against Borderlands movie is missing key characters, the remarkable ensemble promises to bolster the movie's success.

Cate Blanchett As Lilith

Date Of Birth: May 14, 1969

• Active Since: 1992

Actor: One of the greatest actors of a generation, Cate Blanchett is known for her award-winning dramatic roles just as much as she's regarded for her genre work. The two-time Oscar-winning actor (The Aviator, Blue Jasmine) has starred in critical darlings, including Carol, I'm Not There, Tár, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, though other stand-out performances include her role as Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies and her villainous turn as Hela in Taika Waititi's MCU hit Thor: Ragnarök.

Character: An infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, Lilith is one of the original Vault Hunters from the first Borderlands game and serves as the movie's de facto group leader.

Kevin Hart As Roland

Date Of Birth: July 6, 1979

• Active Since: 2002

Actor: Four-time Emmy nominee Kevin Hart is perhaps best known for his comedy specials and stand-up routines, but he's also appeared in dozens of comedy films and franchises, from the Scary Movie series to the Ride Along flicks. Previously, Hart cut his teeth in the action-comedy remake of Jumanji (as well as its sequel), though the actor's role in Borderlands still marks a pretty new chapter in his Hollywood career.

Character: A former soldier of the Crimson Lance, the highly trained private military of the Atlas corporation who's skilled in virtually all types of weaponry. Along with Lilith, Roland is one of Borderlands' original Vault Hunters.

Jack Black As the voice of Claptrap

Date Of Birth: August 28, 1969

• Active Since: 1984

Actor: An Emmy and Grammy Award winner, Jack Black is a multi-hyphenate — musician, actor, and comedian — who's best known for his family comedies, including the beloved Kung Fu Panda series, the cult classic School of Rock, and, most recently, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Other stand-out movies in Black's career include Nancy Meyers' romantic drama The Holiday and the musical film High Fidelity, which provided his breakout acting moment.

Character: Claptrap, a CL4P-TP general purpose robot, has been programmed to have an overly enthusiastic point-of-view. Snarky and a bit of a brag, Claptrap also experiences moments of severe cowardice and loneliness, making the robot a memorable personality.

Ariana Greenblatt As Tiny Tina

Date Of Birth: August 27, 2007

• Active Since: 2015

Actor: Relative newcomer Ariana Greenblatt initially rose to fame for her starring role in Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle — an opportunity that led her to nab roles in Avengers: Infinity War and the acclaimed Star Wars live-action series Ahsoka. Other notable entries in Greenblatt's filmography include the science-fiction film 65, John M. Chu's adaptation of In the Heights, and Greta Gerwig's mega-blockbuster Barbie.

​​​​​​​Character: A fan-favorite Borderlands character, Tiny Tina is a whimsical-yet-feral teenager who also serves as the group's demolitions expert.

Florian Munteanu As Krieg

Date Of Birth: October 13, 1990

• Active Since: 2016

Actor: A boxer-turned-actor, Florian Munteanu is known in the ring by the name Big Nasty​​​​​​​. Appropriately, he transitioned to the silver screen by landing the role of Viktor Drago in Creed II — a role he played again in the third Creed film. As he carves out a space in the action genre, Munteanu has also appeared in films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and TV series like Vikings: Valhalla.

​​​​​​​Character: A playable Psycho class character in Borderlands 2, Krieg had an abusive childhood, but grew to become a bounty hunter. Based on the Borderlands trailer, it seems like the brawler has a soft spot for Tiny Tina.

Gina Gershon As Mad Moxxi

Date Of Birth: June 10, 1962

• Active Since: 1981

Actor: Gina Gershon had a breakout moment in Bound, the Wachowskis erotic neo-noir crime thriller that pre-dates The Matrix. The actor has also starred in Face/Off, alongside Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, and Tracy Letts' Southern gothic crime movie Killer Joe, which also stars Matthew McConaughey. More recently, Gershon had a recurring role in The CW's Riverdale and worked with Borderlands director Eli Roth on his soon-to-be-cult-classic splatter horror-comedy Thanksgiving.

​​​​​​​Character: In the source material, Mad Moxxi​​​​​​​ is an NPC who provides missions for the player, hosts Colosseum matches, and owns several of Pandora's bars. It's likely Gershon's Mad Moxxi will borrow some of these game-accurate traits.

Jamie Lee Curtis As Dr. Patricia Tannis

Date Of Birth: November 22, 1958

• Active Since: 1977

Actor: BAFTA, Oscar, and Golden Globe Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis got her start as scream queen Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's Halloween series — a role she revived with a more recent trilogy of Halloween films. Outside the horror genre, Curtis has starred in beloved comedies like Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, and Freaky Friday. After showing off her comedy-horror chops in Scream Queens, Curtis has gone on to have a career renaissance, landing lead roles in acclaimed movies like Knives Out and Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won an Oscar.

​​​​​​​Character: In the Borderlands games, Patricia Tannis is a scientist and archaeologist who previously worked for the Dahl corporation. While trying to unearth a Vault, Tannis suffers a series of psychological breakdowns as more and more of her colleagues die thanks to Pandora's harsh conditions.

Edgar Ramírez As Atlas

Date Of Birth: March 25, 1977

• Active Since: 2003

Actor: While Edgar Ramírez has appeared in high-profile action and drama movies like The Bourne Ultimatum and Zero Dark Thirty, his more acclaimed roles were attached to TV projects. In 2010, he starred in a made-for-TV biopic Carlos and won a César Award for Most Promising Actor for his portrayal of Carlos the Jackal. A few years later, he received accolades for playing the titular role in Ryan Murphy's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Currently, he stars in Dr. Death.

​​​​​​​Character: In the games, Borderlands' Atlas weapons is a gun manufacturer, so it's possible Ramírez's role is a riff on the well-known entity. The most powerful S.O.B. in the universe, Atlas tasks Lilith's rag-tag team with finding his missing daughter.

Other Borderlands Movie Characters

The Video Game Adaptation Boasts A Massive ing Cast

Bobby Lee as Larry: A former cast member on MADtv, Lee has appeared in hit series like Reservation Dogs and And Just Like That..., Max's Sex and the City revival.

Olivier Richters as Krom: Richters has appeared in big-name blockbusters like Black Widow, The King's Man, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Janina Gavankar as Commander Knoxx: Best known for her TV roles in The L Word, The League, True Blood, Sleepy Hollow, and Arrow, Gavankar also voiced the lead character in Star Wars Battlefront II.

Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs: After getting his start as a prolific stage actor, Jackson made the transition to TV, starring in hit series like 30 Rock, Glee, and American Horror Story.

Charles Babalola as Hammerlock: Best known for roles in The Legend of Tarzan, Broadchurch, and Black Mirror, Babalola will star in Showtime's series King Shaka.

Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus: Although Davis has appeared in well-known TV projects like Criminal Minds, Gilmore Girls, MADtv, and Six Feet Under, he's most well-known for voicing Dutch van der Linde in Red Dead Redemption.

Steven Boyer as Scooter: A stage actor and musician, Boyer has also landed minor roles in films like Wolf of Wall Street and TV series like Orange is the New Black.

Ryann Redmond as Ellie: Although Borderlands is Redmond's first feature film role, the actor has appeared in tons of Broadway projects, including Bring It On, If/Then, and Frozen.

Harry Ford as Middleman​​​​​​​: Best known for his starring role in the CBS medical drama Code Black, Ford makes his return to the big screen with Borderlands.

Borderlands debuts in theaters on August 9, 2024.