The decision to cast Cate Blanchett as Lilith in Eli Roth’s film adaption of the video game “Borderlands” was polarizing. Some fans hate the idea, others are curious, and even more just seem downright confused.
Blanchett is no stranger to big-budget blockbusters having starred in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and “Indiana Jones in The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.” But the actress is mostly known more for her dramatic character studies. Like playing Lydia Tár in “TÁR,” Jasmine in “Blue Jasmine,” or starring as the titular character in “Carol.” So her casting in Roth’s action-packed sci-fi film based on a video game does stand out a bit on her resume.
But the role may not be as out of wack as it appears. “She loves Escape From New York,” Roth told Empire. “It’s her favourite movie. But nobody would know that because why would you ask her about Escape From New York when you’re interviewing her about Lydia Tár?”
According to the director, “Borderlands” is allowing Blanchett to “do this incredible kind of Kurt Russell [character].”
No one will argue that Snake Plissken is a badass no matter what setting he is thrown into. But a character like that would be wildly out of place in Blanchett’s normal fare.
“You’ve seen [her] twirling the baton [in Tár], but you haven’t seen her twirling guns behind her back,” Roth adds. “She’s a master at it. A big part of the fun of the movie is watching it and thinking, ‘I can’t believe they all did this crazy stuff.’ Cate with a flame-thrower — a real flame-thrower — come on! That’s pretty badass.”
“Borderlands” will be a reunion for Roth, Blanchett, and co-star Jack Black (who is voicing android Claptrap). The trio previously collaborated on Roth’s 2018 family-friendly film “The House With A Clock In Its Walls.” “I just thought, ‘What if we paired Cate and Jack again, but this time Jack’s an annoying robot?’” Roth said with a laugh.
“Borderlands” hits theaters August 9th. You can check out the official trailer below:
