Kevin Hart joins Eli Roth's Borderlands movie with Cate Blanchett

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Kevin Hart is getting sucked back into video games after starring in two Jumanji movies.

The comedian has joined the cast of Borderlands, the video game adaptation from director Eli Roth, as ex-soldier-turned-mercenary Roland. Hart recently closed a deal with Lionsgate to join the cast, which includes Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.

In a statement, Roth says this role will show a new side of Hart. "I'm thrilled to be working with Kevin. Borderlands is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they've never seen before," the filmmaker said. "He's going to be an amazing Roland."

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Borderlands is set on the planet Pandora. Roland is a prominent character who, in the games, used to serve in the Crimson Lance, the private military of weapons manufacturing corporation Atlas. The franchise involves mercenaries and raiders operating on Pandora, the corporations mining the planet for riches, and the vault of ancient alien treasures everyone hunts. Blanchett will play Lilith, another face from the games with alien abilities.

Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO's Chernobyl who's also showrunning the upcoming live-action series based on the Last of Us games, wrote the latest draft of the Borderlands screenplay. Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Erik Feig are producing. Randy Pitchford, executive producer of the Borderlands games, and Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive that publishes the games through its 2K banner, are on board the film as executive producers.

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