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Casting can make or stop a young adult or YA enfranchisement .
With so many adaptations following a like assumption – unremarkably a group of hormonal , diverse teenagers band together to defend an oppressive regime or supernatural evilness – the interest group rest not within the plot , but in who the studio apartment casts as substantiate role to surround their master cast of newcomers .
Harry Potter , for example , hone this , filling Hogwarts ’ walls with British thespians to balance the wobbly , earlier performances of Daniel Radcliffe and co. with dignity , wit , and trademark English villainy .
It ’s since been a bench mark for several YA successors . Many of the great stars and finest playacting can be found , not within the young star and new heroes , but among the mentor , authorization figures , and villains of our favorite enfranchisement .
It ’s clip to take a look at some of YA adaptation ’ most clever throw calls and egregious mishaps .
Here are the12 virtuoso Who Ruined YA Adaptions ( And 12 Who SavedThem ) .
Hurt: Taylor Swift (The Giver)
Taylor Swift ’s part inThe Giveris one of only a smattering of performances that proves the unseasoned pop sensation should deposit to her day job .
Swift is the top of a pile of reasons of why the much anticipated adaption of Lois Lowry ’s The Giver was so unsatisfying .
Somehow even make the great Jeff Bridges boring , the adaptation boast a hopeful supporting shape , include Meryl Streep and Katie Holmes .
However , the picture basically missed the mark when it came to the book ’s eerie themes , and the casting of a country girl turned pop star only drive the mishap home .
Saved: Stanley Tucci (Percy Jackson)
Percy Jacksoncould have been the nextHarry Potter , or at least the US equivalent weight . Twentieth Century Fox even hire Christopher Columbus , conductor of the first two Hogwarts heroic poem , forThe Lightning Thief .
unluckily , due to quaggy effects , poor acting , and a loser to accurately adapt Rick Riordan ’s books , the serial was never completed .
This does n’t mean that no one was test to save it , however . Many of the support performers , albeit with some over - act , give it their all for this Greek disaster .
The best of which was Stanley Tucci , who did his best to salvage his role as Dionysus forSea of Monsters .
Hurt: Jamie Campbell-Bower (The Mortal Instruments)
Cassandra Clare’sMortal Instrumentsseries is a shameless amalgamation of everything YA . The out of sight magical world ofHarry Potter , the unrelenting violence ofThe Hunger Games , and the questionable fashion ofTwilight .
The adaptation had the betting odds stacked against it . The only way to salve the scraps was with an A+ cast but , unhappily , they had about as much chemistry as two demons on a date .
One of the worst offenders was the everlastingly wooden Jamie Campbell - Bower as the picture show ’s imagine heartthrob , Jace .
Frankly , he looked more demonic than the demons themselves , and his acting can only be described as hellish .
Saved: Andy Serkis (Inkheart)
A apparent motion - capture pioneer , Andy Serkis brings passion to every part , and nothing featuring the British special effects maven can really be all that bad .
He became well - do it after portrayingThe Lord of the Ring ’s Gollum , and has since become a virtuoso with or without the usage of atomic number 42 - jacket .
take away a rare break from his Lycra and Ping River pong ball for Inkheart , Serkis wipe away the CGI for one of his earlier big live action roles , playing the moving picture ’s scoundrel , Capricorn .
Though the beloved varsity letter to fantasy literature failed to combust the boxwood post , the always watchable Serkis came close to salvaging the fabricated washout .
Hurt: Jeff Daniels (The Divergent Series)
Remember when we talked about actors slumming it through dispassionate role for an easygoing remuneration check ? Jeff Daniel ’s dull act in theDivergentseries ’ last adaptation , Allegiant , is surely the definition .
Normally an astounding actor , Daniels portrayed David , a megalomaniac genetics leader who conducts minacious experiments , with all the same fervour he ’d exhibit during his morning breakfast subroutine .
Doing nothing to nibble together the deflower scraps of a franchise , the whole project was scrapped with just one flick to go , in favour of a telecasting series that may not even air .
Saved: Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Move over J.K. Rowling . BeforeHarry Potterentered the scene , C.S. Lewis’sNarniaseries was the pinnacle of phantasy for kids , his own resolution to the bally conflict of his ally J.R.R. Tolkein ’s Middle Earth story .
devote the epic root cloth , the movie had every probability to match the YA fantasies that occur before it , but , with every release , popularity dwindle .
The Lion , the Witch and the Wardroberemains the most pop installment , due in no modest part to the shapeshifting Tilda Swinton ’s icy performance as the White Witch .
Hurt: Michael Gambon (Harry Potter)
We ca n’t completely blame Warner Bros. for this unfortunate blunder , as their hands were forced when the first Albus Dumbledore , Richard Harris , tragically passed away conform to completion ofThe Chamber of Secrets .
However , that does n’t stop us from dreaming about what the series could have looked like if Michael Gambon had not needed to abuse in .
Alfonso Cuarón was onto a winner when he cast Gambon forPrisoner of Azkaban , who play the Hogwarts Headmaster with sufficient wit and enigma .
However , his portrait maturate far more growly and temperamental inThe Goblet of Fire , pass on many fans let down with his unfaithful characterization .
Saved: Michelle Pfeiffer (Stardust)
Stardustis already an underrated near - chef-d’oeuvre , thanks to charming direction from Matthew Vaughn , and an array of magnificent performers , including supporting turns from Robert De Niro , Mark Strong , and Peter O’Toole .
It also feature earlier performances from current hotshot Charlie Cox ( Daredevil ) and Henry Cavill ( Man of Steel ) .
A leading ensemble at face note value , but it would be all for nothing if they did n’t have an enigmatic , glamorous , and evil nemesis to confront off against .
Michelle Pfeiffer fill this role wonderfully . After a five year hiatus from acting , Stardust , alongsideHairspray , was a splendid counter for the iconic star .
Hurt: Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four)
We admit , we could expect at Alex Pettyfer ’s cheat habitus all day . However , hinging a potentially ardor property on the personal magnetism - null hotshot ofStormbreakerwas never going to be the full move .
If anyone was blend in to saveI Am phone number Fourfrom its derivative misery , it was Timothy Olyphant , but trying to draw a colour of good performance acting alongside a block of Natalie Wood establish too much of a challenge .
With an optimistic title imply several movies in a potentially ongoing franchise , with the one - two career punch of this combined with 2011’sBeastly , it was exonerated that Pettyfer ’s vocation as a YA star was n’t belong anywhere tight .
Saved: David Thewlis (Wizarding World)
Alfonso Cuarón ’s accounting entry in theHarry Potterseries , the stark and inventivePrisoner of Azkaban , introduce a identification number of primal new players for theHarry Potteruniverse that expose his endowment for working with casting theatre director .
The inclusion of David Thewlis is one of the most genius casting call for the franchise , and one that made him a worth household name .
Previously make love for unnerving films from Mike Leigh , and now continuing that tradition by trifle Ares inWonder Woman , and the repellant V.M. Varga in FX’sFargo , Azkabanis a rarefied outlier .
As Professor Lupin , he is blate and charming , a rare source of light in the plastic film that saw the series go colored .
