Kevin Hart has been cast in the forthcoming film adaptation of the hit video game Borderlands.
The actor and comedian will play Roland, a playable character in the original Borderlands who is a highly skilled soldier. Hart joins director Eli Roth and Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett on the project.
Writing on Instagram, he announced the news: "This is a BIG one....So excited to be working with Cate Blanchett & Eli Roth on such an amazing project. Borderlands .....Wooooooow. God is gooooooood!!!!! Let's goooooooo #HustleHart.”
Roth said that he was “thrilled to be working with” Hart, and noted that Borderlands “is a different kind of role for him”.
“We are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”
However, many fans of the original game were not convinced that the Philadelphia funnyman is the right choice for the hard-as-nails character, voicing their opinions on social media.
“As much as I love Kevin Hart... he’s not Roland,” wrote one Twitter user. “It would make far more sense for Dwayne Johnson to play Roland.
“Idk who else Kevin could play but definitely not Roland. Kevin Hart is a comedic relief actor, Roland is too serious of a character for that.”
“Kevin Hart has a place in Borderlands but as Roland?! This makes me sceptical of the movie,” wrote another.
“This movie has such strange castings,” wrote someone else. “I’ve grown to like the Cage Blanchett casting. But Kevin Hart as Roland is so weird.”
“I can't see him as Roland,” wrote another Twitter user. “They're polar opposites in many ways.”
Countless people also suggested that Hart would be better suited to the role of Claptrap, the diminutive robot sidekick who serves as Borderland’s comic relief.
Borderlands has not yet started filming, and no release date has currently been announced.
