Jack Black is set to play snarky robot Claptrap in the upcoming Borderlands movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety, and other publications. He joins what’s turning out to be an all-star cast, which also includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, and Cate Blanchett.
The movie will be directed by Eli Roth, who most recently directed The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which Blanchett and Black also starred in. “I am so excited to reunite with Jack, this time in the recording booth,” he said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Claptrap is the funniest character in the game, and Jack is perfect to bring him to the big screen.”
If you ask me, Black’s wild exuberance is a perfect match for the robot’s quippy in-game persona. If you haven’t played the Borderlands series before, just watch this compilation of some of Claptrap’s best quotes from the second game to get an idea of the role Black is gearing up for.
The Borderlands movie adaptation has been in the works since 2015. Blanchett is set to play Lilith, Curtis will play Tannis, and Kevin Hart will play Roland. Craig Mazin, who co-created Chernobyl and is a writer and executive producer on HBO’s take on The Last of Us, is writing the Borderlands script.
Speaking of The Last of Us, the casting for Joel and Ellie was just announced on Wednesday: Pedro Pascal (who plays the titular character in The Mandalorian) will play Joel, and Bella Ramsey (who starred as the beloved Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones) will play Ellie.
