The feature film Fast Color will be adapted for television by Amazon. Directed by Julia Hart, the science fiction thriller premiered at SXSW in 2018 and released theatrically in April 2019.
In Fast Color, English actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw portrays Ruth, a homeless woman in the futuristic American midwest who discovers that she has superpowers. When scientists attempt to study Ruth, she flees and learns secrets about her past. Co-starring Lorraine Toussaint, Christopher Denham, and David Strathairn, Fast Color currently holds an 81 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The script was written by Hart and Jordan Horowitz, the latter of whom produced the 2016 Damien Chazelle film La La Land. Fast Color’s lead, Mbatha-Raw, co-starred with Mackenzie Davis in the Emmy Award-winning Black Mirror episode “San Junipero.” She also portrayed Dr. Kate Murray in Ava DuVernay’s 2018 science fiction adventure film A Wrinkle in Time.
Per Deadline, Amazon Studios will develop Fast Color for television. Actress Viola Davis will co-executive produce Fast Color for Amazon. The narrative premise will remain the same, as three generations of black women reconnect and learn truths about the past. Hart will return to direct and will also co-write the pilot with Horowitz. In an official statement, Hart noted, “Since the day we premiered at SXSW, there has been an incredible outpouring of grassroots support for this film.” JuVee Productions will co-produce with the aforementioned Davis, who is the first black actress to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award. She currently stars as Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. JuVee Productions reportedly has a first-look deal with Amazon Studios; Davis serves as the President/CEO, and Julius Tennon serves as the President of Development and Production. As of now, it hasn’t been confirmed whether Mbatha-Raw will reprise her role for Amazon’s Fast Color series.
In 2002, Hart portrayed Sally Hannaway in Walt Disney’s Tuck Everlasting. Twelve years later, she wrote the screenplay for Daniel Barber’s The Keeping Room, a drama starring Brit Marling (The OA), Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee), and Sam Worthington (Avatar). In 2016, Hart released her directorial debut Miss Stevens, a drama starring Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name), Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), and Lily Rabe (American Horror Story). Next year, Hart will release her second feature, Stargirl, featuring American musician Grace VanderWaal in the title role.
Based on Hart’s resume and the critical acclaim for her films, Amazon appears to have a hit-in-the-making with Fast Color. But given that Mbatha-Raw already has two television series in the works, it remains to be seen if she’ll be able to reprise her Fast Color character. It’s certainly plausible, as Mbatha-Raw already completed filming for the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show last May, and has completed work for her voice role in the upcoming Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Hopefully, the original Fast Color team will reunite for the Amazon series.
Source: Deadline