The Purge has cast its lead actors for the prequel The Purge: The Island, which will focus on the first purge and how the world became so grim. The franchise will take a step forward in stepping back in time, as the prequel film is set to explore just how the world became the way it is as seen in the popular string of films.

More to the point, the prequel will focus on the first experimental purge that takes place on Staten Island. It will will examine just what it took for the New Founding Fathers to rise to power in America and the psychological effects it has on the people participating. And now, director Gerard McMurray has brought on two young actors to lead the film.

Related: The Purge 4 Lands Burning Sands Director

The Purge franchise began in 2013 with the original film starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey. The film detailed a dystopian America where all crime was legalized for one specific day a year. The film grossed over $64 million at the box office and was quickly followed by a sequel. The second film, The Purge: Anarchy starred Frank Grillo and Carmen Ejogo and grossed over $71 million at the box office. The final film followed Grillo's character and seemingly wrapped up the franchise, leaving Americans to vote for a new senator who promised to end the controversial purge. Now creator James Demonaco and McMurray will bring fans back to the beginning and show fans how The Purge began.

The killers arrive in The Purge.

According to The Tracking Board, Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis will star in the project. Noel has won fan acclaim as Issa Rae's love interest in HBO's acclaimed Insecure, while Davis got her start playing the title role in Lifetime's Toni Braxton: Unbreak my Heart and played a recurring role in CBS' Training Day as Alyse Craig, wife of Det. Kyle Craig. No further information on their characters or other casting has currently been announced for the prequel scheduled for 2018.

The Purge films have been wildly profitable and grossed a combined total of $319 million at the box office. With a television show moving forward at ITV, the fourth film makes sense. The films have been timely, from marketing campaigns that ask Americans to 'Keep America Great' by insisting on their right to purge to discussing socio-political themes and the corruption of those in power. Fans may have wondered just what sort of world inspired the creation of the purge. Now that the film has its lead actors, it would appear that they'll finally have answers.

Next: The Next Purge Movie Is About the ‘First Experimental Purge’

Source: The Tracking Board