If you were at BookCon this weekend, you probably noticed that The Darkest Minds was well represented.
From The Darkest Legacy…
To The Darkest Minds character posters…
To The Darkest Minds photo booth…
To Alexandra Bracken signing books…
And then there was a The Darkest Minds panel, which featured Bracken and star Amandla Stenberg, as they discussed all things Darkest Minds movie in the Goodreads lounge.
The lovely folks at Goodreads live-streamed the panel. But in case you missed it — or want to watch it again! — you can watch it below:
Calling all fans of #TheDarkestMinds! Watch bestselling author @alexbracken and star @amandlastenberg discuss the h… https://t.co/iLstYchnaf
— goodreads (@goodreads) June 2, 2018
Here are some highlights from the panel:
>There were two changes in the movie that Bracken wasn’t particularly excited about. These included Chubs’ power being changed from a Blue (telekinesis) in the book to a Green (intelligence) in the movie, as well as the children’s eyes glowing when they used their powers. Bracken said that she said, “That’s probably not a good idea,” but did give good explanations for both and how they worked in the movie.
>But there is one big change in the movie that Bracken really liked. While she couldn’t give specifics she did say that it was something that worked really well. She’s interested to see how the book fans react to it, and she believes it’ll generate some good conversation.
>During the collaboration process with screenwriter Chad Hodge, Bracken wanted to ensure two things. First, that the ending of the book remain the same in the movie (book fans will know what this means and why it has to executed as such). Second, that her characters be protected.
>Bracken believes the film is faithful to her book. While the movie certainly has to take some liberties, a couple of which she noted she wasn’t a big fan of, she said that overall it was a faithful adaptation. So long as the heart of the story — its characters — are intact, we’ll be satisfied.
At the panel we got to watch a scene from the film, which depicted Ruby’s first meeting with Zu, Liam, and Chubs. From what we saw, you could feel the essence of the book in the scene, which was something that I was really looking for. A short introduction to our four central characters in a scene that felt pretty faithful to the book and managed to leave me begging for more.
When teens mysteriously develop powerful new abilities, they are declared a threat by the government and detained. Sixteen-year-old Ruby, one of the most powerful young people anyone has encountered, escapes her camp and joins a group of runaway teens seeking safe haven. Soon this newfound family realizes that, in a world in which the adults in power have betrayed them, running is not enough and they must wage a resistance, using their collective power to take back control of their future.
The Darkest Minds hits theaters on Aug. 3.
