Welcome to the Legion!
Credit: As You Are

Credit: As You Are

In an exclusive brought to us by The Hollywood Reporter, Amandla Stenberg has been cast in the lead role for Fox’s YA adaptation The Darkest Minds, a trilogy penned by author Alexandra Bracken. She will be playing the lead character of the first book Ruby, a teenager with telekinetic powers who escapes and joins a group of kids. The main goal for all of them is to run from the government.

Amandla Stenberg is most well known for portraying Rue in The Hunger Games series. Stenberg recently starred in As You Are, a movie that recently awarded the special jury prize at the Sundance Festival. She was also recently cast in Everything, Everything, which she will be starring alongside Nick Robinson.

Jennifer Yuh Nelson will be making her live-action directorial debut, having been best known for working on the Kung Fu Panda movie series.  The movie is being produced by Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps banner. The script was written by Chad Hodge.

This casting is symbolic as it represents a move by larger studios to start establishing diversity in their lead roles. I am extremely excited to see this happening because we need more diversity in lead roles in Hollywood anyway, but it also opens up a door for future generations to find role models that look and act like them. This casting is a large step in the right direction, especially since I cannot recall any YA movies in recent years that have had a non-white actor as the lead.

The official book synopsis for The Darkest Minds can be seen below:

 When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.

via Goodreads

What do you think of this news? Are you excited? Let us know in the thoughts below.

About author View all posts

Sarah Musnicky

Sarah is a freelance writer and self-described workaholic. She loves fantasy and sci fi and will admit having dual loyalties between Star Trek and Star Wars as well as Marvel and DC. When she's not being socially awkward, she is in a corner obsessing over dragons, cute things, and a need to master all languages on the planet. She would like to be a professional blanket burrito when she reaches the peak of maturation.

3 CommentsLeave a comment

  • The problem with diversity in film is that white screenwriters are forced to write about non-white characters. This isn’t the right way to do diversity. The right way would be to encourage black people, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, etc. to make their own films. This will result in more films featuring black, Asian, Hispanic and Arab characters. It is starting to become a problem how whites are expected to allow ourselves to be cuckolded and carry everyone on our backs. As a white man myself, I have no desire to write about non-white characters and now I am forced too. This sucks. It sucks that I have to write about black characters just because blacks seem to be unable to make their own films and TV shows with black characters. The talents of whites are now being hijacked to uplift other races.

    This film looks more like interracial propaganda to me. Asian girl with the black guy; biracial girl with the white guy. At least it doesn’t have a white girl paired with the black guy.

    Also, the name “Ruby” suggests that the character was originally supposed to be a white girl with red hair.

    • For a presumed writer in the industry, you seem to have a very narrowminded scope of what is actually being created in the industry. POC have been pushing to create their own material for years, with minimal success due to the perceived notion that this is not what sells in Hollywood. This is not what the consumers want. We’ve only just recently been able to see the projects come to the surface in the general public and they are doing WELL in theaters and television screens.

      If you do not want to write about POC, then don’t write about it. You have the option to CHOOSE whether or not you work on a project. You, sir, have that privilege.

      It seems like you have more issues concerning race and this movie is just a catalyst for you to spill your vitriol.