Janina Gavankar has been cast as a brand-new character in the Borderlands movie. The actor is best known for her roles in shows like True Blood and Sleepy Hollow, and for playing Iden Versio in the video game, Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Gavankar joins an ensemble led by Cate Blanchett that includes Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Monteanu, Haley Bennett, Édgar Ramírez, and Olivier Richards. Borderlands will be written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Eli Roth.
The Borderlands video games center on a group of mercenary treasure seekers called Vault Hunters, who work as soldiers for hire in the outer rim of a galaxy run by militarized corporations. The movie looks to be adapting many of those same elements, with protagonists, Lilith (Blanchett) and Roland (Hart), both first appearing as player characters in the first game. The film will be set on the wasteland world of Pandora, following Lilith and her ragtag team on a quest to find the daughter of galactic mogul, Atlas (Ramírez).
Gavankar has now been added to the Borderlands cast as a brand-new character. Gearbox Entertainment CEO, Randy Pitchford – who oversaw development of the Borderlands games – announced the news on Twitter, stating that Gavankar will play “an all-new character [Pitchford] named specifically for this story.” Gavankar’s character, Commander Knoxx, is a member of Atlas’ elite military force the Crimson Lance, and is the daughter of game villain General Knoxx. “She is, in a word, badass,” Pitchford wrote. Read the full tweet below:
The Borderlands film is one of many video game adaptations currently in development for film and television. Mazin himself is also working on HBO’s The Last of Us series, based on the acclaimed post-apocalyptic game series from Naughty Dog. Netflix alone is in the process of adapting several different game properties, including Resident Evil, Assassin’s Creed, and Tomb Raider. There are also a number of other game-based feature films in development, such as the Tom Holland-led Uncharted movie and the Mortal Kombat reboot, which releases on April 23.
Unlike some of those other games, Borderlands isn’t necessarily known for its story. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t work well on the big screen. The sarcastic and darkly comic sci-fi world of Borderlands is distinct and full of absurd characters, many of whom are making their way into the film. With luck, that potential can be transformed into a satisfying movie for new and old fans alike when Borderlands releases.
Source: Randy Pitchford