Young Adult adaptations come in all shapes and sizes these days. The ones that stand apart and thrive do so because of the level of talent associated with the projects. We've seen this time and time again with The Hunger Games franchise, and The Maze Runner films. The Darkest Minds is one of the next major YA adaptations to make its way to Hollywood, and the project has just taken a significant step forward with the casting of Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie in a pivotal role.
According to a new report from THR, Gwendoline Christie has officially signed on for a role in the upcoming adaptation of The Darkest Minds. Although we don't know too much about the overarching plot of the film (aside from what we can glean from the actual source material), Christie's role has been described as a "vicious" bounty hunter who very much enjoys her work. She joins a cast that already includes Mandy Moore, Amandla Stenberg, and an assortment of up and coming teenage actors.
The casting of Gwendoline Christie as a badass bounty hunter like this only serves to reinforce the notion that she's one of the toughest women in Hollywood. Known for her roles as Brienne Tarth on Game of Thrones and Captain Phasma in the Star Wars franchise (not to mention her imposing 6'3 height), Christie has the unmistakable look of a badass female action hero. If she brings even a fraction of the sheer muscle and toughness to The Darkest Minds that she does to Game of Thrones, then we can rest easy knowing that she will be a character to remember in this project.
Based on the book series by Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds takes the traditional dystopian trappings of the average YA story and dials them up to eleven. The series centers on a vision of America that has been ravaged by a pandemic that has left an overwhelming majority of children dead. Those who survive the plague develop a bizarre array of superhuman abilities and are subsequently round up and placed into internment camps. This particular tale follows a young teenage girl who escapes from her camp and goes on the run with a group of other teenagers who have similar abilities -- think Maze Runner meets X-Men: Days of Future Past. Needless to say, we were already excited, but the casting of Gwendoline Christie just made this one of the most highly anticipated YA adaptations of the next few years.
We will bring you more information related to Gwendoline Christie's upcoming role in Darkest Minds as new details become available to us. Make sure to check her out as Captain Phasma when Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi debuts later this year on December 15. Stay tuned for more details and make sure to check out our movie premiere guide for more information related to the rest of this year's major theatrical debuts!
