It would seem that 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 you can say ‘Holy sequel, Batman!’ 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 each month on who’s playing what, who’s not, and who should. The roles and stars everyone can’t stop talking about are all here…
Welcome to an exclusive Movie addition in Casting news! First up, some news for Twisted star Maddie Hasson: soon to start filming A Light Beneath Their Feet, a coming of age tale centered around a high schooler faced with the decision of whether to head to college or stay at home to tend to her bipolar mother (Taryn Manning, of 8 Mile).
Still the busiest little YA actress around, Chloe Moretz is rumored to be starring in The 5th Wave, the eagerly awaited adaptation to the Rick Yancey YA novel. The story tells of a young woman resolved to save her brother from a parasitic alien race in the process of taking over the planet.
The tall British Game Of Thrones actress Gweondoline Christie is replacing Lily Rabe in the final act of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, as Commander Lyme, one of the leaders of the rebellion and a former Hunger Games victor.
More Goosebumps news! Ken Marino, originally of MTV’s The State (followed by the excellent Party Down) has joined the cast alongside Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, and Amy Ryan. Marino will portray Coach Carr, who helps to fight monsters taking over his school.
Last but not least, some exciting news for last year’s standout actress Brie Larson from Short Term 12. The promising young actress has signed on to star in Room, an adaptation of the book by Emma Donoghue about a mother and son in captivity and the impossible scenario she creates for them to cope. Partially inspired by an incredibly shocking true story.
IN DEVELOPMENT
And for those exciting new projects announced that don’t yet have stars attached, you heard it here first! Find out about new YA-interest films and TV shows below!
Let’s start this section off with sequels, sequels and more sequels! Just some of the improbable part 2’s to be making the rounds in the Hollywood rumor mill are: Karate Kid Part 2 (with Jackie Chan and Jayden Smith back for more), Wreck-It Ralph 2 and most insanely, The Goonies 2, following the adventure from way back in 1985!
In slightly more imaginative fare, Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard is being tossed around as a choice for The Sinister Six, a mind-bending supervillain crossover film in the DC universe which would unite Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman, Venom and The Vulture against Spiderman and NYC. This is in addition to the standalone Venom spinoff already in the works. It all sounds so bad, it’s good.
Reese Witherspoon is planning to produce an adaptation of the YA novel The Outliers, written by Kimberly McCreight, which isn’t even published yet (planned for release late 2015). The story’s pitch: A teen gets mixed up with a secret organization known as the Outliers, who harness intuition and use it as a psychological weapon. When they turn against her she has nowhere to go but run.
Dreamworks is developing an animated adaptation of Marissa Meyer’s bestselling Cinder, a modern/scifi take on the classic fairytale of Cinderella taking place in a future where a put-upon cyborg becomes involved with a prince amidst an intergalactic struggle for control and domination.
More news on the Pete’s Dragon front! Probably due to the success of How to Train Your Dragon (as well as its soon-to-be-released sequel), development of this title is hitting the fast track, with Ain’t Them Bodies Saints writer/director in talks to helm this update to the classic tale of a boy and his (imaginary?) dragon.
And last but not least (and none too surprising), it has been confirmed that the third installment in the Divergent series, Allegiant, will be split into two segments. This is only natural in the now customary move on Hollywood’s part to make as much money as possible: they did the same thing with the final chapters of Twilight, Harry Potter and will be doing it for The Hunger Games as well!