Casting Directors: Take a Hint From the Readers

Recently there has been an increase in book to TV adaptations due to the rising popularity of certain books across social media. Those adaptations have not done the novels justice. 

Books such as The Summer I Turned Pretty, It Ends With Us, Heartstopper, and The Hunger Games are all books that have already been adapted into movies or TV shows. The most recent announcements of a series being put into production were The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, People We Meet on Vacation, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Selection. 

With the announcement of these upcoming series comes the immediate concern for who is going to get the role of these beloved characters. Luckily, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Heartstopper, and The Hunger Games were successful. But after the release of It Ends With Us, readers are becoming more skeptical if their favorite characters are going to be portrayed the way they imagined. When the characters are cast inaccurately, it immediately depletes the magic of the film. 

When reading a book, many envision the scenes and characters in their head, assigning characters a curated appearance that goes along with how they are portrayed within the story. These imaginings are turned into fanart and Pinterest aesthetics, cementing what the readers envision the characters to look like and allowing readers to come together around a love for the characters. 

Fanart is the most prominent way of finding out what a character from a book is thought to look like. Created by readers for readers, fanart is the best way for casting directors to understand what the audience is looking for. Yet, most of the time, those wishes aren’t granted. 

In It Ends With Us, Blake Lively was cast as Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old college graduate. Lively is not 23, leaving fans feeling disconnected with her character. In the recent announcement of People We Meet on Vacation, a dark-haired Emily Bader was cast as Poppy Wright, an eccentric, outgoing character unanimously thought to be blonde. 

Stories and their characters have a large impact on those who read them. So when casting directors disregard some of the most important aspects of what makes the characters authentic, it makes fans of the books less and less excited to see their favorite characters on the big screen. 

So casting directors, please listen to the readers; they know what they are doing. The movie will be even more successful because of it. 

Strike Out, 

Madi Denizard 

Boca Raton 

Madi Denizard is a content writer for Strike Magazine Boca. In typical Leo fashion, she is a social butterfly and loves self-expression of all kinds. When she’s not writing, you can find her with her nose stuck in a book, mermaiding in the ocean or crocheting her newest masterpiece. You can reach her by email at madison.denizard@gmail.com or on Instagram @mpaigee_