Young actress and singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter has been added to the cast of The Hate U Give, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Carpenter made her mark on the Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World before transitioning exclusively to her singing career, by which she has released two full length albums. She will be joining the already cast Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything), Regina Hall (Scary Movie 4), Russell Hornsby (TV’s Grimm), Lamar Johnson (TV’s The Next Step), Algee Smith (Detroit), Common (Selma), and Issa Rae (TV’s Insecure).
The film is based off of the Young Adult novel by Angela Thomas, which explores the world and themes of the Black Lives Matter movement through the perspective of a teenage girl. After being published by Haper Collins earlier this year, the film’s source material has spent 23 weeks on the New York Times young adult best-seller list.
Stenberg leads the film as Starr, a 16-year-old who has grown up in a city slum, but now attends an elite prep school. Her dual life is put into perspective when one of her friends from home is shot by a police officer. From there, Starr must face her identity and voice in order to speak her truth. After being published by Haper Collins earlier this year, the film’s source material has spent 23 weeks on the New York Times young adult best-seller list.
Carpenter is set to play one of Starr’s new classmates at the prep school. Hall and Hornsby will be playing her parents, while Johnson will play her brother, and Smith a friend from home.
George Tillman, Jr. is directing the project for Fox 2000 based on an adapted script by Aubrey Wells.