Hey Jem fans! Even though this movie only got greenlit a month ago, it looks like production is going into full swing at breakneck speed. Today we found out a cast and even got a look at them.
Aubrey Peeples – Jem,
Stefanie Scott – Kimber,
Hayley Kiyoko – Aja
Aurora Perrineau – Shana
That makes for an interesting, although not unsurprising cast. Peeples is currently in a recrruing role on ABC’s “Nashville” and was in “Sharknado.” Scott is one of the stars of “A.N.T. Farm” on the Disney Channel. Kiyoko has played Velma in a couple straight-to-DVD Scooby Doo movies. And Perrineau is in nothing I’ve ever heard of before, but her father is Harold Perrineau, who was Michael on Lost.
So, rather than casting a big-name pop diva like Katy Perry or P!nk to play Jem, we’re getting a cast of relative unknowns. Will they expect the franchise’s “popularity” (ironic air quotes intended) and nostalgia draw audiences in, or will they go for a big name to stunt cast as a member of The Misfits, the rival band?
Considering that I’m not exactly sure who the target audience for Jem is, I guess this is probably welcome news for them?
UPDATE: It’s been pointed out to me that one of the Holograms, Shana, in her original iteration, was black. Me, not being all that familiar with source material (I’m sorry! I fully recognize my white male privilege that it didn’t matter to me the ethnicity of the characters on “Jem”) I had no clue.
And while Perrineau is certainly African-American, she is more fair skinned and certainly isn’t rocking the blue afro that Kimber did in the cartoon. This being true, this is another disturbing instance of Hollywood trying to whitewash characters and how, in many ways, we have moved backwards in terms of depictions of people of color in media.
What do you think? Leave your comments below and listen to the original while you do it!