That escalated quickly: Just weeks after news broke that Jem and the Holograms was going to be a movie, the cast has been announced, and filming is already underway.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Nashville's Aubrey Peeples will star in the title role, while her bandmates the Holograms will be portrayed by A.N.T. Farm's Stefanie Scott (Kimber, Jem's sister), Pretty Little Liars' Aurora Perrineau (Shana), and The Fosters' Hayley Kiyoko (Aja). There's no word yet on who will play Jem's love interest, Rio, and whether or not he will be truly outrageous.
Jem was the quintessential 1980s cartoon, filled with fashion, excitement, big hair, and lots and lots of bright colors. It followed the adventures of Jerrica Benton, a music company owner, and her alter-ego, Jem, the lead singer of the Holograms. The cartoon often focused on altercations with rivals The Misfits, and each episode was chock full of lessons and awesomely '80s original tunes.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, this version will be totally modern and "for a whole new generation with themes of being true to who you are in a multitasking, hyperlinked social media age." Will Synergy have a Facebook page? Will Rio have a YouTube channel devoted to tips on how to maintain perfect purple hair? We’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, here's an Instagram photo from the set by director Jon Chu. --Catherine Garcia
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