Mandy Moore Joins Teen Dystopian Thriller THE DARKEST MINDS

Fox is hoping that anyone* still wants to watch dystopian teen movies. They are basically the only studio in Hollywood that hasn’t been burned in the attempt to cash in on teens attempting to overthrow a dictatorial government/company (Yes, Lionsgate scored huge with The Hunger Games Trilogy Plus One, but they also released the floundering, maybe headed to TV, Divergent film series), and now that production of the highly successful Maze Runner Trilogy is back on track, they are looking to start up a new teen dystopia tentpole. To that end, they are moving forward on their adaptation of The Darkest Minds and have cast Mandy Moore in a major role.

The film, based on the YA trilogy by Alexandra Bracken, is set in a world in which a pandemic has killed off most of America’s children and teenagers. As some of the survivors develop special abilities, they are imprisoned. Amandla Stenberg (formerly of The Hunger Games, the dystopia that started it all) stars as a telekinetic teen who escapes and joins a group on the run. Moore will play a doctor who is also a member of a group that wants to stop persecuting children, which seems like it would be a popular stance, but you never know in these dystopias.

I really like Ms. Moore (you should check out her cover of “Have A Little Faith in Me”), but she seems like an odd fit for. a movie like this. I guess she’s hot now that she’s on This Is Us, and even got a Golden Globe nomination for it, so good on her for striking while the iron is hot. She probably needs the money for cat food.

The script is being written by Chad Hodge, the creator of Wayward Pines and The Playboy Club, and will be directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who helmed Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3. Shawn Levy is set to produce. Let's hope the film turns out to be more Hunger Games and less The 5th Wave.

*Me. I want to watch all of the teen dystopias, I don’t even care if they are good.

Source: Variety