- They began working together eight years ago – and now Kevin Hart and Jack Black are set to hit the big screen again together in Borderlands
- But Hart tells Pubity.com that he has already set his sights on a very unusual role in the next movie in Black’s franchise, Kung Fu Panda
- Elsewhere, Hart also had fighting talk for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – and sung the praises of online streamer Kai Cenat
They’ve enjoyed a long working relationship with each other.
And Kevin Hart says he would like that to continue – if Jack Black will let him.
The pair first worked together in 2017 on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a sequel to the 1995 movie Jumanji, starring Robin Williams. A subsequent film, Jumanji: The Next Level, was released in 2019.
And now the duo are sharing the big screen once more in Borderlands.
The movie, which will be released on August 8, is based on the video game series of the same name. Hart stars as Roland, “a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption”, while Black, 54, will play Claptrap, “a persistently wiseass robot”.
And although the friends are thrilled to be in yet another movie together, Hart, 45, is desperate to get in on another of Black’s projects.
Speaking exclusively to Pubity.com about what the next venture for the pair might be, he pleaded, “I would tell Jack to let me in Kung Fu Panda and stop being selfish! Kung Fu Panda’s… that’s a big IP [intellectual property], that panda’s doing big business at the box office. Let me in Jack, let me be Kung Fu Panda’s best friend!
“I want the Panda spin-off, with me and you, Jack!”
Hart’s not wrong – as of May this year, the combined four movies of the franchise have brought in a whopping $2.328 billion at the box office. Kung Fu Panda 4 alone, released on March 28, has raked in $546.4 million worldwide.
But if Black gives him the green light, what animal would Hart play in the DreamWorks animation?
“If he’s the panda, maybe I’m the koala bear… I need to be something that people don’t expect to have personality,” Hart mused. “Or a ferret – I’ve never seen a ferret really take over the big screen in animation. Maybe I’m the ferret.
“I would be the best ferret ever, I know I could. I would be so good as a ferret!”
‘I’d kick The Rock’s ass in a heartbeat!’
Elsewhere in our chat, Hart also had something to say to another one of his former co-stars – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Along with Black, the pair performed alongside each other in the Jumanji sequels.
But now that Hart is taking on the lead role of action hero Rowland in Borderlands – which also stars Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana Greenblatt – could it be time for pro-wrestler The Rock, 52, to admit defeat and concede that Hart is the more macho of the two?
“I don’t think he’s going to feel any way [about my role], because he’s going to know that this has been a long time coming,” Hart joked. “I’ve been carrying him on my back for years and I’m tired. It’s time for me to take what’s mine – and that’s the space of action, so that’s what I’m doing. All action, all the time.”
When we agreed that it would be great to see the two friends go head-to-head, Hart was very keen on the idea.
“Absolutely – I’m going to kick his ass,” he laughed. “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
‘Never be afraid to show support – there’s room for us all’
Fans also went wild in June, when Hart appeared on Kai Cenat’s live stream.
Cenat, 22, is one of the biggest names in the online world – and Hart’s appearance helped to secure his biggest stream of the year and break his viewership record, with an audience of 721,000 tuning in.
Although Hart admitted he loved his time on Cenat’s channel, he won’t be setting up his own in the future.
“I would just do it with him,” he revealed. “I’m literally such a fan of what he’s done and what he’s built. I like embracing that world. I would never start a stream by myself. It would just be in the space that I’ve already done it.”
Hart continued, “I think that’s what’s very unique about what we’ve done, and for all the fans that have watched it: it was authentic, it wasn’t forced, it was a real organic moment.
“I think that’s what makes it special between me, him and even [comedian] Druski’s involvement. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done – so much fun and I’m glad to embrace those guys at the highest level.”
Hart added, “I’m never afraid to support – I think everybody needs it and everybody could use it. There’s room for us all.”
