Iden Versio is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. [9], Iden Versio's first video game appearance was in Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), where she is portrayed by Janina Gavankar. Del Meeko joins Iden, while Hask remains loyal to the Empire. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. Niece of author and director Nilu Gavankar. Discussion. Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress who portrayed Iden Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II.2 Gavankar also read the audiobook for the 2017 novel Battlefront II: Inferno Squad.3 as well as the short story "End of Watch" for the audiobook of … Just so much wasted potential. "[22] Roberts criticized the lack of exploration of Iden's Imperial perspective, commenting that "in the opening, [the player gets] the sense that Iden and company believe in the sense of order that the Empire brings—but their perspective isn't explored with much greater depth than that. "[3], Steve Blank, a creative executive for Lucasfilm described Iden as a "tried and true and through and through Imperial. Throughout the game, Iden Versio is accompanied by ID10, a seeker droid which she nicknames Dio. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Gavankar's former all female singing group, Endera, was signed to Cash Money Records Universal Records.She collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. In 2007, she landed a lead in CW pilot Dash 4 Cash. But not as Iden. Great grandniece of music director Vasant Desai,. She is the protagonist of the game's single-player campaign, and she is also a playable character in game's multiplayer mode. - IMDb Mini Biography By: She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Gavankar's roles include Papi, a lesbian lothario in The L Word; Leigh Turner, a police officer on The Gates; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft branded search engine who commented on the user's searches; Shiva, the namesake of the sought-after trophy on The League; shapeshifter Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood; McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow; and Meredith Bose on NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. In response, the actress was to directly confirm the existence of Horizon Zero Dawn 2 and ensure that the continuation will be "amazing". In an interview with IGN, Star Wars: Battlefront II's Janina Gavankar, who plays Iden Versio in the game, has discussed her secret cameo 'appearance' in "Chapter 11 - The Heiress." [2], During her audition process for the game, Gavanakar was not told that the project she was auditioning for was Battlefront II nor that she was auditioning for the lead role, but noted that her knowledge of the gaming industry assisted her in "[putting] two and two together. Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress who portrayed Iden Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II. Her father Pete Gavankar produced Rahul Dev Burman's international album "Pantera" in 1986. "[22], Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, "5 Things You Need to Know About Battlefront II's Iden Versio", "Star Wars Battlefront 2 | Janina Gavankar on playing Iden Versio, Star Wars' newest 'hero, "Star Wars: Battlefront II's Janina Gavankar straddles being a fan, an actress, and a gamer", "Star Wars: Battlefront 2's Campaign Is Set Up In A New Novel", "Star Wars Battlefront II Prequel Excerpt: Meet the Empire's Finest", "Watch: Reading is good with these 7 essential Star Wars books", "Star Wars Battlefront 2: Iden Versio Added as Playable Hero for Multiplayer", "Star Wars' Battlefront II's single-player campaign is a great new story with a nostalgia problem", "Chosen One of the Day: ID10, Iden Versio's little droid buddy from Battlefront II", "8 Ways 'Battlefront II' Changed 'Star Wars' Canon Forever", "Star Wars Battlefront II Scene Details The Emperor's Plan After Death", "A Timeline of Everything We Know Happened After, "Star Wars: Battlefront II - Resurrection review: A disappointing end to Iden Versio's story", "Star Wars: Battlefront II's 'The Last Jedi' update introduces 'old' Iden", "Star Wars Battlefront 2 connection to The Last Jedi feels small but significant", https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/inferno-squad-battle-pack-75226, https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/12/12/covert-ops/, "Battlefront 2's brief campaign doesn't really show you the Empire's perspective", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iden_Versio&oldid=999699973, Woman soldier and warrior characters in video games, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 January 2021, at 14:15. I knew that if it was Motive that it was Battlefront. [7] The novel's events directly precede those of the video game. She appears on CW's Arrow as a vice squad police officer and brief girlfriend to Oliver Queen.Gavankar is an admitted gamer and has appeared on, as well as co-hosted, G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.In 2011 Gavankar became a series regular in HBO's True Blood as a public school teacher and shapeshifter, Luna Garza, who gets romantically involved with one of the main characters of the series.Her indie movie, Satellite of Love, premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2012, and her 2012 indie I'm Afraid of Virginia Wolf is in post-production. Bollywood composer Rahul Dev Burman was best friends with Pete (Ganesh) Gavankar. Publicity Listings Gavankar also read the audiobook for the 2017 novel Battlefront II: Inferno Squad. Garrick Versio was a human male who held the title of Inspector General and later the military rank of admiral in the Imperial Security Bureau, a law enforcement and intelligence agency of … Music has always been a really big part of my life. | Before moving to the US, Pete had also assisted in some of Filmstan's (S. Mukherjee's production banner) productions, including working on the sound stage for Dil Dekhe Dekho (debut of music composer Usha Khanna). [17], Iden returns in the Star Wars Battlefront II: Resurrection downloadable content (DLC). I'm shameless, but it's true. [16] Dyer commented that this is because "one of the key pieces of feedback [the development team] got was that people really liked playing as Iden. Close. | She described the experience as unusual as she could not speak or understand any Hindi. When the Tie fighter enters the Dauntless, it always blows up after a while. [10], In the video game's campaign, she is established as the Commander of Inferno Squad, an Imperial Special Forces unit. "[11] Bishop added, "[Iden] may be an Imperial, but she's also a hero in the classic Star Wars tradition: she fights for the ideals that have been instilled in her from birth, and carries with her the kind of devil-may-care swagger that made Han Solo a household name. Janina Zione Gavankar (/ dʒ ə ˈ n iː n ə ɡ ə ˈ v ɑː ŋ k ər /; born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. Gavankar played the voice of Nikki in Quantum Quest. I was working in Chicago, in theater and in commercials and anything that anybody would let me do. Character Art of Iden Versio for Star Wars™ Battlefront II (2017). Toward the end of the game's campaign, Iden participates in the Battle of Jakku, the final large-scale military battle of the in-universe Galactic Civil War. Battlefront II's campaign narrative and characters, including Iden, were developed by Electronic Arts's Motive Studios branch. [4] Her Inferno Squad mates in the game are Gideon Hask and Del Meeko. SHOW COMMENTS (0) Why Is This One Of Your Favorites? We really found out who [Iden] was together. It's ridiculous that people aren't allowed to love who they love, have families, and have the same life as straight people. as well as the short story " End of Watch " for the audiobook of the anthology From a … Battlefront II's campaign narrative and characters, including Iden, were developed by Electronic Arts's Motive Studios branch. Product: Star Wars Battlefront II Platform:Microsoft XBOX One What is your issue related to? IMDb only lists specific projects. 'Battlestar Galactica' was my favorite show. She went into the studios in New York with fifty members of Jersey Surf and recorded the music video "Don't Look Down- #JustAddDrumCorps Edition" that was released in April 2015.On May 20, 2015, Gavankar performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall with Questlove for the Best Buddies charity benefit. "[17] Dingman, however, added that "Battlefront II's campaign, proper ending included, is anemic start to finish. Her father Pete Gavankar and her aunt Nilu Gavankar produced Bollywood composer Rahul Dev Burman's first and only International album Pantera in 1987. When I moved to L.A., I had made a choice to be a character actor, meaning that I wanted to become somebody else. Gavankar has acted in theatre, film, television, and online. Her father was in fact an Admiral in the Empireand her mother an artist who designed propaganda posters for them, and so Iden was groomed to become a member of the Imperial war machine herself. Above: Janina Gavankar plays Iden Versio in the starring role in Star Wars: Battlefront II.
But I don’t necessarily think that Iden is suddenly on the light side. [14][15] One of the planets targeted by Operation: Cinder is Iden's homeworld of Vardos. Following the Rebellion's victory, she begins a romantic relationship with her Inferno Squad partner, Del Meeko. Gavankar also portrayed the character for the audiobook adaptation of the novel Battlefront II: Inferno Squad, which was released a few months ahead of the game. They use to visit Pancham when ever they visited India and Pancham stayed with them in Chicago when he visited America. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Grandniece of documentary editor Sadanand Desai. [6] In the novel, the "Inferno Squad" is an elite team of soldiers led by Commander Iden Versio. [6] Gavankar provided the voice for the novel's audiobook version. On the motion capture aspect of her performance, Gavankar commented "The technology has caught up so much that you can deliver a subtle performance and it will catch your micro-expressions [...] I decided to deliver as subtle of a performance as I would on camera. Here they talk about musical influences, feminism, and being in the Star Wars canon together. The film co starred Samraat Mukherjee, who is the cousin of Kajol. I don't really feel comfortable unless I'm slightly uncomfortable. [7] In the novel, Admiral Garrick Versio serves as the squad's supervisor. I identify more as a musician than as a singer, because I play piano and percussion, and I engineer and produce everything that I do. To bring Versio to life, EA brought in actress Janina Gavankar, who both voices Versio and is the source for her in-game face and character model thanks to motion-capture. Iden is the player character of the 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II, an action shooter developed by EA DICE, in collaboration with Criterion Games and Motive Studios. I love supernatural stuff. Be the first to Add To Favorites. Actress Janina Gavankar—who voices Iden Versio in the Star Wars video game—interviews the game's musical composer, Gordy Haab. Responsible for the high-res modeling and texturing of her Resurrection DLC outfit. "[11] Tom Hoggins of The Telepgraph wrote that Gavankar joined an "exclusive club of women leading Star Wars stories, with Iden Versio standing alongside Daisy [Ridley]'s Rey and Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso from Rogue One. "[5] Despite this, Iden's characterization has been described as "grey" and "complex", due to events that unfold in Battlefront II. Janina Gavankar, Actress: The Way Back. Gavankar has worked with special effects artist Frank Ippolito many times in the past, who made and puppeteered one of the Mon Calamari headpieces in the episode. Gavankar is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. FRANCHISE RELATED. "[3], In a negative review of Resurrection, Hayden Dingman of PCWorld opines that the setup to the DLC is promising due to the believability of Iden's stakes in comparison with the main campaign and the built-in emotional hook of Del Meeko's death, "compounded by Iden fighting alongside her daughter Zay. Yea what's the name of the actress who plays Iden. Iden Versio is voiced and portrayed through motion capture by actress and musician Janina Gavankar. His childhood friends included Ronu Mukherjee (son of S. Mukherjee, father of Rani Mukherjee) and Bhisham Kohli (nephew of Dev Anand). In 2018, she has two films releasing. 4. Iden Versio is voiced and portrayed through motion capture by actress and musician Janina Gavankar. [16] Mitch Dyer, the co-writer of Battlefront II details that "when the Resurrection DLC begins, [...] Iden is in a time of peace. She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts. "[5] She commented that Iden "is a literal poster child for the Empire. But not as Iden. which aired on G4 TV.On August 3, 2013, Gavankar landed a role as a witch named Qetsiyah in the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries. [1] Iden Versio is voiced and portrayed through motion capture by actress and musician Janina Gavankar.
She's an interesting and compelling new character in the Star Wars universe, so we wanted to really focus the rest of the story on her. [6] In-universe, the group's formation is authorized by the Empire after the Rebellion steals the plans to the Death Star and destroys the battle station. [6] The Inferno Squad is tasked with infiltrating and eliminating "the Dreamers", who were the remainder of Saw Gerrera's extremist rebel group, the Partisans. She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016.She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game Star Wars Battlefront II.In 2018, she has two films releasing. "[3] Gavankar commented that the development process for Iden was highly collaborative. You're an actor first and foremost. Pete was the nephew of sound recordist Mangesh Desai. In the early 2000s Janina traveled to India with her father and shot for the Bollywood film "Naam Mera Maria". I don't care what it is. "[16] While the initial Battlefront II campaign features chapters in which the player controls other characters like Luke Skywalker or Lando Calrissian,[11] the Resurrection DLC focuses entirely on Iden. I did all the musicals in my high school; I was in a pop group signed to Cash Money Records in college. On the motion capture aspect of her performance, Gavankar commented "The technology has caught up so much that you can deliver a subtle performance and it will catch your micro-expressions [...] I decided to deliver as subtle of a performance as I would on camera. I believe artists deserve all the help they can get, so they can focus on being great artists. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, a canon Star Wars character and the protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II; shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League. Gavankar was featured in Russian artist Ella Leya's music video for "Wish I Could", in the music video by San Francisco-based band Recliner for their single "Float Away", as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.In August 2012, she released the single for her upcoming EP, entitled Waiting for Godot, and in November, Billboard premiered the official music video. [19], A LEGO minifigure version of Versio is also available in the LEGO Star Wars Inferno Squad Battle Pack, which was released in early 2019. I'm always drooling over great design, from fashion to furniture. [16][18] Toward the end of the Resurrection DLC, while infiltrating Hask's First Order Star Destroyer with her daughter Zay and her partner Shriv, Iden Versio steals the plans for a First Order dreadnought. I want to continue to play characters that are not like me at all, and transform. [6][8], In Inferno Squad, the unit is established with Iden commanding Gideon Hask, a fellow pilot who graduated top of his class at Coruscant Imperial University, Del Meeko, a TIE fighter pilot and an engineering expert, and Seyn Marana, an intelligence prodigy and master cryptologist. She pleads with him to follow her to safety, but he refuses and urges her to survive. A new tweet from Janina Gavankar (who played protagonist … "[4] Gavankar detailed Iden as having an "unshaking loyalty to the Empire" as a result of her early life upbringing to be "the perfect soldier, the perfect officer. Battlefront II's campaign narrative and characters, including Iden, were developed by EA's Motive Studiosbranch. Iden Versio's Voice Actress Confirms Horizon Zero Dawn 2? She has had songs licensed to movies and television, and has sung and played marimba on film scores. [7][9] Iden is also noted for holding the record for most verified kills in battle. [12] TJ Ramini, Del Meeko's voice actor, notes that Iden and Del "have a bit of a banter, a bit of a laugh," throughout the game. Her father Pete Gavankar was best friends with Bollywood director Shomu Mukherjee (Father of actress Kajol). "[9], In his review of Star Wars Battlefront II, Bryan Bishop of The Verge praised Janina Gavankar's performance, opining that she "delivers some real pathos with her performance. Because she's hot af Press J to jump to the feed. [4], After being freed from Rebel captivity by ID10, the player first controls Iden on Endor during the events of Return of the Jedi. It's infuriating. ... Iden Versio is a crack Imperial commando and … On December 20, 2012, Gavankar was the last person interviewed for the now cancelled Attack of the Show! I feel like in Atlanta, if you were a female dancer, the more you can dance like the boys, the more respect you get. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, canon Star Wars character, and protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II, shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, lesbian lothario Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League. Samraat's father Ronu Mukherjee was best friends with Janina's father Pete Gavankar. I was thrust into that kind of dance culture, and it was in my body. She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game Star Wars Battlefront II. Iden Versio first appeared in a teaser trailer for the 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II, which was leaked on April 11, 2017. That's what attracted me to becoming an actor in the first place. She serves as the protagonist of the game's campaign and is voiced and portrayed via motion capture by Janina Gavankar. Discussion. Father Pete Gavankar and his family had a huge footprint in Hindi cinema. A successful American TV actress, Gavankar has had roles in True Blood, Arrow and Sleepy Hollow. She was portrayed by Janina Gavankar. In 2009, she appeared in the TV shows The Cleaner, Dollhouse, Three Rivers, and The League, as well as indie movies Men, Interrupted, Indian Gangster, and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. I'd rather control someone than be controlled. (Aankhon Mein Sapne Liye) The film was directed by Nilu Gavankar who is Janina's paternal aunt. She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts.In 2006 she joined the cast of The L Word as a series regular, and shot all of the clips used for Ms. Dewey. We worked with military consultants to figure out how we moved together as a squad; all of these things took a lot of care and conversation. [2] She detailed that she "worked with the writers of the game and the writer of the book and we had access to a LucasFilm story group member every day on set. [21], The character of Iden Versio received mixed opinions. With assistance from Drum Corps International, she contacted the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps and arranger Colin Bell. "[17] Samuel Roberts of PC Gamer had similar sentiments, commenting that "most of the tension is removed from the story" once "Iden Versio and her comrade, Del, basically join the Rebellion. See more ideas about star wars battlefront, star wars, battlefront. The Mandalorian season 2 could feature a surprising crossover with Star Wars Battlefront 2. Iden Versio actress in Star Wars Battlefront sneaks into Janina Gavankar insists on her desire to reprise the character in the Star Wars universe, will she ever return? My Reason: Characters left: 140 I Don't Have A Reason / I'll Add One Later. [14] Inferno Squad is sent to Vardos to retrieve Gleb, an Imperial ally, so that she is not caught in the destruction of Vardos. When they turn against the Empire, as the Empire turns on its own people, they make the snap decision to change sides with very little ambiguity. She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016. [13] The player controls Iden as she assists the Rebellion in defeating the Empire. [5], Iden Versio debuted in Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad, a tie-in novel for the 2017 Battlefront II video game. She is the commander of Inferno Squad, a group of elite Imperial soldiers, but near the end of the Galactic Civil War becomes disillusioned with the Galactic Empire's actions and defects to the Rebel Alliance. Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. Leia then sends the trio to gather the Resistance's allies in the Outer Rim. the film was never released for unknown reasons. Later in the 1970s, Pete headed to the US for his degree in engineering and eventually settled in Joliet, Illinois. She's a great lead and the novel highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the idealized Imperial upbringing. When I was in college in Chicago, I was doing a lot of commercials - that was my bread and butter. His maternal uncle Mangesh Desai was the most popular and accomplished sound recordist in Hindi cinema world.
He also lent his voice to LEGO The Force Awakens and he played the player character in Let it Die. Here Are Star Wars Battlefront II’s Actress and Writers Zarmena Khan Sunday, April 16, 2017 Yesterday, we got our first close look at Star Wars Battlefront II ‘s new character, Iden Versio. By Marcos Yasif / Updated 16 November 2020, 13:5210 comments She actually put Iden in posters. When it comes down to it, I'm kind of a nerdy actor. Her father is an Admiral and her mother is a propaganda artist. [11] Gavankar also described Inferno Squad as a black ops unit. It doesn't list theater, commercial, and most non-union work. For example, Janina Gavankar, who starred as Iden Versio in Star Wars: Battlefront 2, had a small part in The Mandalorian Season 2, episode 3. [13] Nearly 30 years pass, and in the campaign's epilogue, it is revealed that Iden and Del have married and had a daughter. [15][16] Following her defection from the Empire, the player continues to control Iden, who briefly was unaligned, but soon joins the in-universe Rebellion movement. Pete was the maternal nephew of Bollywood sound recordist Mangesh Desai. Even if I manage to blow up all the Rebel fighters. Official Sites. [19] Iden confronts and kills Hask but is mortally wounded in the process, and dies before she can escape the Star Destroyer, although Zay, Dio and Shriv manage to get away on a stolen TIE Fighter and send the dreadnought plans to General Leia Organa's Resistance movement. [13] The campaign ends with a cliffhanger after Hask, now aligned with the First Order kills Del. "[16] Iden and Del's daughter is revealed to be named Zay in Resurrection. In a review of the Inferno Squad novel, Sean Keane of New York Daily News wrote that "We get POV sections from all four members of the squad, but Iden is by far the most developed. It went on to win numerous film festival awards.While in high school, Gavankar auditioned for the front ensemble of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford, Illinois. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. [6] The Inferno Squad novel was written by Christie Golden and released on July 25, 2017. Janina Zione Gavankar (born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician.Gavankar is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. Pete is also the father of actress, singer Janina Gavankar and famous journalist Sonya Gavankar. I know that Iden Versio was played by some other actress in Battlefront 2, but I would really love to see Stephanie Beatriz as Iden in a live action version. Posted by 4 hours ago. No one is going to hire you because you tweet a lot. [13] One of Palpatine's posthumous orders is for the Empire to perform Operation: Cinder, which involved devastating many Imperial planets in order to instill fear in the galaxy and emphasize the Empire's authority. Comments Add a Comment. During the battle, Iden engages - and bests - Hask in a dogfight and confronts her father on his ship as it is being destroyed by Rebel fire. Reddit user Potatoslayer2 pointed out that Iden Versio actress Janina Gavankar, Anthony Skordi (Admiral Garrick Versio) and T.J. Ramini (Del Meeko) were all in Los Angeles in November 2020. I don't want to play myself all the time. Iden ideologically disagrees with Operation: Cinder, as it conflicts with Iden's belief that the Empire stands for peace and order.