Ariana Greenblatt is set to play Tiny Tina in Eli Roth’s movie adaptation of the best-selling video game franchise Borderlands after a worldwide casting search. Greenblatt will join Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black in the film. Last year, Greenblatt starred in Love and Monsters for Paramount, The One and Only Ivan for Disney, and had a voice role in Warner Bros.’ Scoob!. The actress will now take on Tiny Tina, who, in the video games, is a non-player character described as being an unstable thirteen-year-old explosives expert.
“Ariana is a spectacular new talent in cinema. She has already worked with many of my close collaborators and everyone raves about her. She blew us all away in her audition, and I cannot wait to see her bring the wild, insane, and unpredictable Tiny Tina to the big screen. She’s going to blow up on screen like one of Tina’s grenades,” said Roth.
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It was announced in May 2020 that Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett (Carol, Blue Jasmine, The Aviator) will lead the cast as Lilith, a siren and legendary thief equipped with magical skills. Hart signed on to star as ex-soldier-turned-mercenary Roland. Curtis will play Tannis, an archeologist on Pandora who might have the key to finding the vault, but whose complicated history with Lilith (Blanchett) isn’t going to help. Jack Black will play the beloved robot companion Claptrap.
Based on the bestselling PC and console gaming experience from developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K, a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Borderlands will be produced by Avi Arad and Ari Arad, who produce through their Arad Productions banner, and Erik Feig, through PICTURESTART, who have shepherded the project and overseen development, including the latest draft of the screenplay by the two-time Emmy-winning screenwriter Craig Mazin. The film’s executive producers are Randy Pitchford, executive producer of the Borderlands video game franchise and founder of the Gearbox Entertainment Company, and Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.
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Borderlands is one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, with more than 57 million units sold-in worldwide, including over 22 million units of Borderlands 2, which is the highest-selling title in the history of 2K. The most recent installment, Borderlands 3, which launched in September 2019, already sold-in nearly 8 million units worldwide and was honored with the award for “Best Multiplayer Game” at Gamescom.
(Photo by Robyn Breen Shinn)
