Do the Complaints Have Any Merit? Discussing the Forth Wing and Boys of Tommen Casting Announcements

You may not notice your new favorite movies and TV shows are inspired by books. But the avid readers who were fans before the screen adaptation sure do, and have strong opinions about it. While some complaints come after the movie releases and are mostly reasonable (yes, I am referring to Percy Jackson fans who were bewildered by the movies and how they completely ignored the plot of the book), more recent book-to-screen adaptations and cast announcements have not been received with much content. In fact, as a reader and fan myself, I believe that most complaints are irrational, and quite frankly, rude.

The most recent casting news has been for Amazon’s new adaptation of Forth Wing, a fantasy book written by Rebecca Yarros. While the author herself and her publishing house have yet to make official announcements, it is believed that the real cast was indeed leaked by the Variety and Deadline, casting Esther McGregor as Violet Sorregail, the main character, and Emilio Skraya as Xaden Riorson, Violet’s love interest. And, while those actors are extremely talented as seen in projects such as We Were Liars and Those About to Die, and will surely bring those characters to life, a part of the fandom was extremely discontent about it. While Rebecca Yarros herself was part of the casting process and probably had a role in choosing the right actors for her characters, fully believing in their capabilities, the fans who have not even seen them interact with each other, firmly believe that they are not the right choice. And their concerns root not from reasonable evidence, but the fact that they believe that they do not look like the characters they've envisioned in their minds. A standard, I must add, that was further fueled by AI generated images, which created impossible beauty standards and majestic people that do not exist in real life. And, while those readers have every right to have doubts (even if they are based on ridiculous concerns), they do not have the right to publicly humiliate the actors and constantly complain online how they disagree with the casting choices.

I would like to state that this is the first time, or the worst time this has happened within this recent year. However, when the Boys of Tommen — another Amazon book to screen adaptation on Chloe Wash’s book series — was cast, the fans just became absurdly infuriated. They started attacking decisions of people they will never meet, criticizing these young actors, who they have not seen their work yet, because they did not look like the characters, or because they were not pretty enough, or because they did not have the right haircolor. Wigs do exist, you know? And even then, the color of a character’s hair is not really relevant to the overall story of the Boys of Tommen: the books focus on different relationships of different people who have suffered different traumas, and how through hope and kindness they are able to lift themselves up and live a better life. And the casting announcement revealed that a part of the fandom was, hypocritically, anything but kind. 

Fortunately, most critics have settled down since then, especially with photos of the “first look” coming out, showing that, after some characterization, they are indeed similar to the characters and are doing an amazing job portraying those beloved characters. 

Nevertheless, in both situations, the problem is clear: the fans need to calm down. Of course their concerns are mostly valid, as they hope these stories who shaped them and marked their lives are properly represented. However, criticizing and publicly diminishing the actors is rude, and will probably limit our future knowledge as readers, regarding book adaptations. My advice, as a fan myself, is to, before posting a disrespectful comment, stop and think. How will the young actors entering the industry feel about your comment? More importantly, in a few months, when the “first look” pictures come out and they are exactly as you imagined they would be, how would you feel knowing that you criticized perfectly casted actors in the first place? So stop, and wait. Variety and Deadline always chooses the worst pictures to announce those casting announcements, and even then, if the author, the one who wrote the book being adapted, believes in those actors, you should believe in them too.