Randy Pitchford Explains Bizarre Kevin Hart ‘Borderlands’ Movie Casting

Yesterday, some truly strange news broke about the upcoming Borderlands movie. Kevin Hart was announced to be joining the film, which seemed like an odd choice to begin with, but even weirder when you heard who he was playing. That would be Roland, the burly, straight-laced soldier, one of the original Vault Hunters from the first game.

I had heard rumors about Hart joining the film as Roland a while back, but it seemed like such a goofy idea that I dismissed it out of hand. But it turned out to be true, and now I find myself wondering what the hell is going on with this movie.

The Borderlands film already puzzled some fans with the casting of Cate Blanchett as Lilith the Siren, with Blanchett being 51 and not looking particularly like the much younger game character in the first place. But she’s a multiple Oscar winner and I mean, who wouldn’t want to have her in their film?

Kevin Hart is…a very good comedic actor and a big box office draw, so I guess you could say the same for him. But him as Roland seems like a level beyond the Blanchett casting. The news was met with immediate pushback by everyone who has ever played a Borderlands game, causing Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford to speak out about the news on Twitter:

Pitchford talks about this going against “typecasting,” but there are just several layers of strangeness here. Presumably Borderlands is going to be a mix of comedy and action like the games, and yet you’ve cast a comedian to play one of the only straight-man roles in the universe. That’s strange on its face. And then there’s the fact that Kevin Hart just…doesn’t look like Roland at all.

The film’s director being Eli Roth, no stranger to blending violence and comedy, is probably the most logical thing about this movie, and he also seems to love Hart for the role:

“I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin,” said Roth in a statement. “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. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”

I am all for Kevin Hart showcasing his dramatic chops in a non-typical role for him, but here? It’s just…weird when actors like Lance Reddick or Mike Colter are right there for Roland. But I suppose neither are big potential box office draws like Hart.

As for what’s going on with the rest of this movie, I have no idea. Will the casting of Brick and Mordecai make any more sense than Roland and Lilith? At this rate, I’m not sure anything could surprise me, and I’m still not clear on if Borderlands is going to be playing this straight or it’s trying to be like, a parody of itself, if that makes sense. That’s how weird these casting choices have been.

Anyway, it’s an uphill battle for any video game movie to end up being good, but as a longtime Borderlands fan, I’m certainly rooting for it. We’ll see when it actually makes it to screens amidst all these delays, however. More casting news to come, I’m sure.

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