It would seem that movie casting news for Young Adult Hollywood revolves around just a few hot and very in-demand names, and what a busy bunch they are! But because things change in showbiz faster than it takes them to fast track another young adult series into production, the names on that list are changing all the time. So to that end, we here at YA Mag will undertake the hefty task of keeping you up to date on who’s playing what, who’s hot, and who’s not. The roles and stars everyone can’t stop talking about are all here…
Beautiful British actress Nathalie Emmanuel will join Dylan O’Brien and company in The Maze Runner’s second installment, The Scorch Trials
. The sequel focuses on the group that made it through the maze, as they face treacherous new challenges on the open roads of a post-apocalyptic planet. Emmanuel will play Harriet, the leader of a group of girls who have escaped from another maze. She will join fellow Game of Thrones co-stars Aidan Gillen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster for the film.
Newcomer talent Talitha Bateman has joined the cast of Chloe Grace Moretz starrer The 5th Wave
, in a role known as Teacup. The sci-fi alien invasion thriller is based on the Rick Yancy YA novel, and we’ve been covering it extensively.
Disney Channel sweetheart Bella Thorne will voice Underdogs, an animated family comedy also starring Arianna Grande, John Leguizamo, Katie Holmes, Matthew Morrison, and Nicholas Hoult. The film follows a shy kid who teams up with foosball figures who have come to life in order to reclaim the village from the town bully and save the love of his life. Also look for Bella in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Amityville: The Awakening and The DUFF.
Get ready for Fan Girl, and we don’t mean an adaptation of Rainbow Rowell’s adorable YA novel Fangirl
of last year. Instead, this semi-autobiographical film from screenwriter Gina O’Brien follows a 15-year-old post-Millennial teen who decides to bring her two passions together for her final film project: making movies and her favorite band. Kiernan Shipka, Kara Hayward and Joshua Boone are attached.
IN DEVELOPMENT
Noah was only the beginning. Bible movies are back in vogue, as evidenced by the new Exodus: Gods and Kings. Next up will be a King David biopic, based on LA Rabbi David Wolpe’s historical biography David: The Divided Heart
.
Another very popular trend is John Green book-to-film adaptations. After the immense success of The Fault in Our Stars, Green’s book Paper Towns was fast tracked into production, starring Nat Wolff (a supporting player in TFIOS). Now, another Green book, An Abundance of Katherines
, is also in development for a movie. The book tells the story of an aging child prodigy who, after getting dumped by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine, goes on a road trip to rural Tennessee with his best friend to escape it all.
