Fox’s upcoming TV series adaptation of Justin Cronin’s The Passage has cast its leads, including 10-year old Amy Bellafonte, the young girl who has the future of the human race resting on her shoulders. No pressure, Amy.
Amy will be played by Saniyya Sidney, who you may recognise as Flora Harris from American Horror Story: Roanoke. She has additionally had roles in the Oscar-nominated features Fences and Hidden Figures. For someone so young, she is already well on the way to making an impression on the world of film and TV, so she’s an actress we’re expecting big things from in the not-so-far-away future.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell, CSI, Pitch) has been cast as the FBI agent that kidnaps Amy – with her best intentions at heart – after he discovers that she’s been chosen for horrifying government experiments.
The Passage is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with vampiric beings and a deadly virus. At the centre of it all is Amy, believed to hold the secret to understanding – and possibly curing – this threat to humanity.
The story is a complex and epic one. I’ve only read the first book from the trilogy, but it was a brilliantly exhausting experience. It’s the best type of tale for the TV format, because it’s such a heavily detailed and uncompromising set of events that blends elements from horror, sci-fi, fantasy and good old-fashioned human drama.
Fox plans to release The Passage in 2018, with the series going into production this month in Atlanta. The show additionally stars Genesis Rodriguez, Brianne Howey, B. J. Britt, Zach Appelman and Tyler Barnhardt.
Words: Jessy Williams (@JessyCritical)
