The Passage discussion

So excited that shooting has begun on the Fox series of our favorite book The Passage. Right now only a handful of actors/actresses have been officially selected like, Brianne Howey, Genesis Rodriguez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, B.J. Britt, and Saniyya Sidney. The last actress will be starring as Amy. I really, really hope we won't get any sort of "Rue" type reactions when they discover the change.

Hopefully, it won't be too long before they actually start shooting and we get some shots sent out of the set. Look for its release summer of 2018.

Wow! I am currently in the middle of reading City of Mirrors. I had heard that there were plans to adapt The Passage, but I didn't know they were in the middle of casting! I love who they cast for Amy. I was really afraid the producers would try to white wash it since all of the fantasy casting lists I've seen online have been disappointingly white/light-skinned (especially for characters like Sara, Michael, and Alicia).

Unfortunately, I'm bracing myself for the potential backlash of whoever they cast. As you mentioned, there was the horrible criticism over Rue's casting, but Idris Elba, who was cast as Stephen King's gunslinger, has been the target of some of the most hateful, racist criticism I've read in a while. I think many people didn't register that almost all of the characters in First Colony (except for Auntie) is multiracial. My boyfriend, who introduced the trilogy to me, said he didn't realize Peter wasn't white until the end of the book :P

But anyway, this is awesome. Thanks for posting the update!

Thanks for adding to the discussion. I stumbled upon The Passage by mistake in the Audiobook section of my Library. The back cover intrigued me, picked it up... the rest is history. I'm from Philadelphia, so all the Philly references just made it that much enjoyable.

I was aware of racial background of the characters, I just assumed Amy was white, because of any reference stating otherwise. Being black myself, I won't be picketing outside of Cronin's home. I just don't folks to be so caught in the race of the character, they miss out on what "should" (I put should in quotes because I've had books ruined by series before - Under The Dome) be a great tv series.

I'll be interested to what you think of City Of Mirrors. I liked it... but I should of loved it. But I won't go into anything more than that.

The Cast list has grown... we now have our Alicia. Anyone know ANY of these folks??? My wife know the Mark-Paul guy from SBTB. Can he be a good Wolgast?
Thoughts?

Series cast summary:
Zach Appelman ...
Agent Phil Doyle (1 episode, 2017)
Brad Brinkley ...
Male Officer (1 episode, 2017)
B.J. Britt ...
Peter (1 episode, 2017)
Cory Chapman ...
Skinny Kid (1 episode, 2017)
Jennifer Ferrin ...
Sarah (1 episode, 2017)
Jackie Goldston ... Foster Mom (1 episode, 2017)
Mark-Paul Gosselaar ..
Brad Wolgast (1 episode, 2017)
Brianne Howey ...
Shauna (1 episode, 2017)
Allie McCulloch ...
Dr. Lila Kyle (1 episode, 2017)
Vincent Piazza ...
Clark Richards (1 episode, 2017)
Genesis Rodriguez ...
Alicia (1 episode, 2017)
Saniyya Sidney ...
Amy Belafonte (1 episode, 2017)

I hope the series isn't a disappointment. Looking at the cast list of the 1st episode already tells me it will be a mix between the past (pre-apocalyptic / government experiment gone wrong) and present (First Colony) and I am not sure how that's going to go. Also, how is Carter not in the first episode but Peter, Sarah & Alicia are? I know, I'm getting ahead of myself...We'll just have to wait and see.

I can't see Mark Paul Gosselaar as Brad Wolgast... I imagined Wolgast as older and rough looking. Mark will forever look like Zack in my eyes.

JENNY wrote: "I hope the series isn't a disappointment. Looking at the cast list of the 1st episode already tells me it will be a mix between the past (pre-apocalyptic / government experiment gone wrong) and pre..."

Wow... forgot all about Carter's involvement early on. Perhaps its still early, so that's why we haven't gotten an update on that actor yet. They better nail the right guy for Carter, when I think of Carter... I think of a younger Mykelti Williamson ("Bubba" from Forrest Gump). You gotta find someone the audience will instantly bond with.

I get it that they are trying to save money, but we can't get any heavy hitters. It's like they are trying to go The 100 route. But that cast was excellently chosen, hopefully this will be the same.

i imagine theyll run the timelines somewhat concurrently to start with. As within the scope of a tv show it would be too jolting to have 8 episodes or whatever in one time frame than BAM, whole new cast, whole new setting, etc.

Its more likely itll be told in flashback scenes rather than the strict linear nature of the book.

Interesting response Keith. That actually makes sense. Instead of drawing out all the back story, just wrap it all up in flashbacks. The arrow spent like the first 5 seasons giving you flashbacks of his life on the island.

Anthony Carter is going to be played by Chris Jarrell, who ironically starred in a movie called Brotherly Love, which takes place in my own stomping grounds of West Philly / Overbrook High School.

While I heart giving young up and comers a chance... and he did well in Brother Love, he is NOT what I envisioned when I picture Anthony Carter.

Anthony Carter should be taller, bulkier and older than this actor. That being said, it's unclear on how many episodes he is in. So I could be jumping the gun here and this could be a younger Carter. But the way the book described, everything that has happened to him appears to have happened later on in life, not as an early 20's something.

We'll see.

PS. We were going to get a May release, but for whatever reason, it will be pushed back to the fall....AAAAaaarrrgghhhh!!!

http://deadline.com/2017/08/the-passa...

JENNY wrote: "I hope the series isn't a disappointment. Looking at the cast list of the 1st episode already tells me it will be a mix between the past (pre-apocalyptic / government experiment gone wrong) and pre..."
mark in any role is a disappointment

Celery66 wrote: "JENNY wrote: "I hope the series isn't a disappointment. Looking at the cast list of the 1st episode already tells me it will be a mix between the past (pre-apocalyptic / government experiment gone ...mark in any role is a disappointment "

You just saddened my day Celery66.

Im sorry, but apart from the rest of the casting decisions, which they are fine by me (Peter is spot on, and Mark has the right age and "lived" eyes) isn't Amy, in the author's own words almost "porcelain white"? Nothing against the choice they made, because it really doesnt matter in the end, but im pretty sure some scenes and moments played with her dark hair and almost alabaster skin, as if she was a victorian vampire or some cliché living dead.

Please TELL me this isn't so...

Alicia Donadio, Peter Jaxon, and Sarah Fisher–who were to be played by Genesis Rodriguez, BJ Britt, and Jennifer Ferrin respectively–have been removed from the show.

C'mon now?!?!? Like our fav characters sans Amy.

The only way this can be saved at this point is to merge Peter's character into his brother and merge Alicia / Sarah into a whole new character with similar backgrounds. As a die-hard of this books, I can't help but feel... extremely disappointed.

Justin Cronin tweeted that the story stating that Alicia, Peter, and Sarah have been removed from the show is “inaccurate reporting” ... didn’t expand on what he means by that though?

Portia wrote: "Justin Cronin tweeted that the story stating that Alicia, Peter, and Sarah have been removed from the show is “inaccurate reporting” ... didn’t expand on what he means by that though?"

Thank you so much for this Portia. That would have made the series go in such a strange direction without those three. I follow Cronin, but missed the tweet.

Okay... so it looks like the 2nd pilot has been well received and they are moving forward. This is EXCELLENT news. We are getting closer...
http://deadline.com/2018/05/fox-order...

Included in this link is the first images of Amy and Wolgast.

Here's the trailer!!!
https://youtu.be/6rJ64J-gSbY

Enjoy

What do you guys think of the first episode?
I thought it was well acted and fast paced. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though we know the book well, the changes to fit tv keeps us guessing.

(Spoilers below )

So they glanced over/ softened up the mom's backstory, but I get it. Got rid of Sister Lacey... but again...I understand. Made Babcock and Richards women, and slightly altered the whole Wolgast/Lila backstory.

From the scenes for the rest of the season, it appears as though all of 1st season is pre-colony... which makes sense. Once you deal with the real post-apoc portion of the story, it will cost more money to world-build. So it makes sense to see if the show is a hit first before you start through some real dough into the series. Unless... we get just a snippet at the end of the season. I did see some characters names that are from the colony. Oh well... we'll see.

What are your thoughts?