There was a lot to cover with Janina Gavankar on her episode of Collider Ladies Night. Not only did we dig into her run on Big Sky, which just celebrated its winter finale, but we also had to discuss her enthusiasm for horror, music, Star Wars and her passion for gaming.
Gavankar noted, “I’ve been a hardcore gamer since 2007. I started gaming super late. At this point, I also consult and direct in the games space as well, so it’s a really big part of my life.” That right there most certainly constitutes a big part of Gavankar’s life, but her gaming work actually goes even further than that, extending into Hollywood as well. Gavankar is in the upcoming Borderlands movie.
According to the film’s official synopsis, the Eli Roth-directed adaptation of the Gearbox game features Cate Blanchett as Lilith, an outlaw who returns to her home planet to find the missing daughter of Edgar Ramírez’s Atlas, “the universe’s most powerful S.O.B.” In order to get the job done, Lilith must team with Kevin Hart’s Roland, a former elite mercenary seeking redemption, Ariana Greenblatt’s Tiny Tina, a pre-teen demolitionist, Florian Munteanu’s Krieg, Tina’s protector, Jamie Lee Curtis’ scientist Tannis and Jack Black’s robot Claptrap. Gavankar will step in as Commander Knoxx, a new character created for the film.
After expressing much admiration for the work that goes into creating games and the industry’s immense success, we narrowed the focus to this new Borderlands movie. As someone who’s such a hardcore fan and so involved in the industry behind-the-scenes, I asked Gavankar what it is about the Borderlands movie that conveys respect for the source material. Here’s what she said:
“The production design and the art direction alone is so close to the game. You can’t believe they put this much love and attention into the details. I came in with my arms crossed like, ‘You better do it right because I’m here to call bullsh*t.’ And it’s like, they went hard. They really meant it. Even down to our costumes, just getting the colors of everything right. There’s a lot of love that went into the production.”
Gavankar also highlighted the unforgettable on-set experience of watching game developers see their creations come to life right before their eyes.
“And then a lot of people from Gearbox got to be there so the thing that’s wonderful is when you get to see a dev walk around and pick up something that they created digitally? I mean, come on. That’s the kind of really special stuff that I just love watching come to fruition.”
Looking for more from Gavankar? We’ve got a whole 45-minute chat with the Big Sky star for you! Check out the conversation below in podcast form to hear more about her time working on The L Word, True Blood, Arrow and so much more.
The Borderlands movie is expected to be released in 2022, but no official date has been confirmed.