On the heels of starring in Lionsgate's hit murder mystery Knives Out, Jamie Lee Curtis is in talks to join two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart in the studio's adaptation of the popular video game Borderlands, Collider has exclusively learned.
Blanchett will star as the game's legendary thief, Lilith, while Hart will co-star as its skilled soldier, Roland. As for Curtis, she's set to play Tannis, an archeologist on Pandora who might have the key to finding the vault, but whose complicated history with Lilith isn’t going to help. In the game, Dr. Patricia Tannis was a non-player character who was integral to the main storyline of Borderlands, and went on to provide missions in Borderlands 2. The character returned in Borderlands 3 to assist the new Vault Hunters.
Eli Roth is directing the movie from a script by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), and though Borderlands is a departure for the noted horror filmmaker, he could hardly contain his excitement about working with the star of the Halloween franchise.
"Working with the iconic Jamie Lee Curtis has been a life long dream of mine, and I am so excited for her to bring her humor, warmth and brilliance to the role of Tannis," Roth said in a statement.
“The kind of talent we’ve been able to bring together for Borderlands is a testament to the incredible script that Craig wrote and Eli's vision for Pandora," added Lionsgate's Nathan Kahane. "Jamie is unique in that her characters have depth and gravitas, but are also always hugely entertaining -- she commands the screen. At this point, Jamie is like family to us after bringing so much to Knives Out and hosting last summer’s 'Lionsgate Live' fundraiser to help theater workers, [so] we could not be more thrilled to be working with her again."
Avi Arad and Ari Arad are producing Borderlands via their Arad Productions banner along with Erik Feig of Picturestart. Lionsgate is getting behind the project in a big way, as the video game series has sold more than 66 million units since launching in 2009. Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford has been with the game since the beginning and he'll executive produce the movie with Strauss Zelnick of Take-Two Interactive. Lionsgate's James Myers and Aaron Edmonds will the film for the studio, while Emmy Yu will oversee on behalf of Arad Productions, and Lucy Kitada and Royce Reeves-Darby will oversee for Picturestart.
Curtis has been a movie star ever since she played the iconic role of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece Halloween, which was followed by cult favorites such as Prom Night and Terror Train. She went on to star in two defining comedies of the '80s, Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda, as well as hits like True Lies and Freaky Friday.
The beloved actress reprised her Halloween role in David Gordon Green's 2018 sequel, which proved wildly lucrative at the box office. The follow-up, Halloween Kills, had been slated to open last October but is now expected to hit theaters this coming October, while Halloween Ends is due in October 2022. Curtis also served as an executive producer on Green's slasher trilogy, and she has wrapped A24's sci-fi movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, which hails from the directors of Swiss Army Man.
Curtis is represented by CAA and attorney Alan Wertheimer.