Star Wars Battlefront 2 actor Janina Gavankar joins the Borderlands film

(Image credit: Janina Gavankar (Instagram))

The cast of the Borderlands film continues to grow: Deadline revealed today that Janina Gavankar has signed to play the role of Commander Knoxx, a new character being introduced to the series in the film.

Commander Knoxx is the daugher of General Knoxx, the chief bad guy in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC for the original Borderlands. The Deadline report doesn't say anything about how the character will fit into the film but Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford hinted that she's not there to be helpful, saying on Twitter that she "followed in her father's footsteps when she joined Atlas' private army, the Crimson Lance. She is, in a word, badass."

Janina Gavankar will join the cast of the Borderlands movie as an all-new character I named specifically for this story. Janina will play Commander Knoxx, who followed in her father's footsteps when she joined Atlas' private army, the Crimson Lance. She is, in a word, badass. pic.twitter.com/LzWWqlPildApril 12, 2021

Gavankar may not have as high a profile as some other members of the Borderlands cast, which also includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black, but she's appeared in numerous television series in recent years including The Morning Show, Space Force, Better Things, and Sleepy Hollow. She should also be familiar to gamers, and Star Wars fans in particular, for her portrayal of Imperial super-commando Iden Verso in Star Wars Battlefront 2.

A synopsis for the Borderlands film was shared last week with the news that Edgar Ramirez will portray arms manufacturer Atlas, and it is cheesy indeed: After returning to Pandora, Lilith must team up with Roland, Tiny Tina, Krieg, Tannis, and Claptrap to find the daughter of Atlas, "the universe’s most powerful S.O.B."

"These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands—but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other."

Maybe it'll be better than it sounds. When last we heard, the Borderlands film was in production in Hungary, and a release date had not yet been set.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.