Cate Blanchett Is In Talks To Play Lilith In Eli Roth's 'Borderlands' Movie

Lionsgate has been on a roll lately. John Wick 4 is on the way in 2022. A few weeks ago, it was announced that Suzanne Collins is releasing a prequel book to The Hunger Games, which Lionsgate will be adapting into a movie. Stephanie Meyer is releasing a new Twilight book told from Edward’s perspective and we can only assume that will become a movie, too. And a third Now You See Me movie is on the way.

Now there’s news that’s even more exciting: Variety has reported that Cate Blanchett is in talks to play Lilith in Lionsgate’s movie adaptation of the Borderlands video game series. Obviously, it’s not a done deal yet, but if Blanchett does come on board, it will be a huge win for the studio. Cate Blanchett is…well, Cate Blanchett.

Eli Roth will be directing, which I wrote about back in February and he was incredibly pumped at the time of the announcement, saying at the time that he was “look[ing] to bringing [his] own energy, ideas, and vision to the wild, fun, and endlessly creative world of the game.” Gearbox Software founder Randy Pitchford will be executive producing to ensure that the film is true to the spirit of the game. Other producers include Avi and Ari Arad under the Arad Pictures banner and Erik Feig through his Picturestart banner. Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin wrote the most recent draft of the script, so they certainly tapped someone who can handle writing about an apocalyptic wasteland.

Thus far, Blanchett is the only actor whose name has popped up in conjunction with the project. Though it makes sense – Lilith is one of the main playable characters in the franchise and has appeared in every game. In the game, Lilith is a “Siren” class, a member of a group of women with incredible magical powers including being able to turn invisible to enemies, moving inhumanly fast, and sending out shockwaves to kill her enemies. Whether or not we see all the special skills of the characters in the movie remains to be seen, but Eli Roth understands the video game and its fans so it’s almost certain we will see at least some translation of the characters’ trademark special skills on the screen.

One final, fun note? I have to admit this movie and this casting is a little bit personal for me: My best friend did all the mocap work for Lilith (and a few of the other ladies) in Borderlands 3 and a bunch of mocapping for the second video game, too.