Features | The Lowdown On Upcoming YA Adaptations

Features | The Lowdown On Upcoming YA Adaptations

• Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Images via Goodreads
Following the success of films such as The Hunger Games adaptation just over a year ago and the growing popularity of the genre many more of our favourite Young Adult series are also set to hit the big, and small, screens in the next couple of years. This year already sees the release of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, Orson Scott-Card’s Ender’s Game, Casandra Clare’s City Of Bones and most recently Beautiful Creatures on the big screen but here are some details on just a few of the other titles set to be adapted soon.

Divergent

Quite possibly the most talked about is the film adaptation of Veronica Roth’s debut Divergent, the first in a trilogy that follows the journey of Tris Prior as she chooses which faction she will belong to for the rest of her life. As the film is set to begin shooting in Chicago very soon there have been a lot of interesting casting announcements popping up in recent weeks. Firstly Shailene Woodley was cast as main character Tris Prior followed by the announcements that Zoe Kravitz will play Christina, Tris’ best friend in the Dauntless faction, Nikita star Maggie Q will portray Dauntless member Tori and Ansel Elgort is set to play Tris’ Erudite brother Caleb. There are also speculation that Oscar winner Kate Winslet has been offered a role and although rumours suggest she will portray Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews this has not yet been confirmed. The most anticipated casting news however is that Brit actor Theo James will portray Dauntless member and Tris’ love interest Four.

The Maze Runner

Also on the cards is a 2014 film version of The Maze Runner by James Dashner which was released back in 2009. The story centres around a group of boys , the ‘Gladers’ who are trapped in a maze as part of some form of experiment. The boys don’t know how they got there or why they were chosen but they know that they are meant to find a way to escape. There hasn’t yet been a lot of confirmed news for this project although IMDB has British actors Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Aml Ameen listed as cast members. The website originally had Poulter listed as main character Thomas but that has since been altered and now states that he will play Gally. The film will be directed by Wes Ball best known for his work in art departments and visual effects.

Vampire Academy

The popular Vampire Academy series of novels by Richelle Mead are also coming to the big screen. Personally I don’t know a lot about this series but from what I understand it centres around a boarding school where vampires are trained to protect magic and half-human teens. Reports state that Zoey Deutch, star of another YA adaptation Beautiful Creatures, will play main character Rose. Interestingly Mark Waters who is famous for his work on Mean Girls amongst other things has signed on to direct.

The Fault in Our Stars

A big screen adaptation of John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars arguably the most talked about YA release of 2012 is also in the works. The film is set to be directed by Josh Boone who’s only previous directing credit is 2012’s Stuck In Love which he also wrote the screenplay for. There have been rumours about Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld auditioning for the role of Hazel Grace but nothing has been confirmed as yet. *Edit - the same day this post was published it was announced that Shailene Woodley will portray Hazel Grace

Delirium

In addition there are also projects set to hit the small screen this year most notably Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series. The books are set in a world where love is considered a disease and at the hands of the government teens are ‘cured’ with an operation. Emma Roberts has officially been cast to play protagonist Lena alongside Jeanine Mason as best friend Hana, Daren Kagasoff as Alex and Gregg Sulkin as Julian. The pilot episode is set to condense the entirety of the trilogy’s first novel coupled with some character changes which will make for interesting viewing for fans of the series.

The Selection

Kiera Cass’ The Selection, a story about a girl chosen by a ‘lottery’ to compete for the affections of Prince Maxon, is set to air on The CW, the network who successfully adapted the Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl books and now The Carrie Diaries, later this year. So far there are several names on board to star including Anthony Head as the King.

Mila 2.0

Debra Driza’s debut novel Mila 2.0 which isn’t actually released until the end of March is already set for an ABC adaptation with Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and her producing partner Betsy Beers on board both as executive producers. Mila 2.0 follows the story of a teen who discovers that she is in fact an android created by the military as an experiment in artificial intelligence. As yet there has been no casting news but with Rhimes and Beers on board the project has a lot of potential for success. I was actually lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the book - if you are interested and would like to find out more about Mila 2.0 click here to read my review.

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So that’s it for my wrap up on upcoming YA adaptations. I am hoping to review the pilot episodes of both Delirium and The Selection when they air as well as Mila 2.0 if the project goes ahead so keep an eye out for those later in the year. I’m sure I will be reviewing some of both the 2013 and 2014 film releases on my personal blog (www.e-eliseetc.com) too.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below letting me know which adaptation you are most excited for!

This post was written by regular reviewer Erin, get to know her here.