Is “The Merciless” on your YA radar? It should be! Ever since the news came down that Danielle Vega’s novel was headed to Hollywood, we’ve been keeping our ears to the ground for any whispers about what’s bound to be an awesome adaptation.
The original story is chilling — think “Mean Girls” meets “The Exorcist” — and with “Pretty Little Liars” showrunner Marlene King in charge of taking it to the movies, “The Merciless” should be a high-stakes, high-drama scarefest with no shortage of either twisty intrigue or sexy distractions. But since the pipeline between page and premiere is so agonizingly slow, MTV News caught up with Vega herself to find out what’s new with the adaptation, where she gets her inspiration, and what we can read to give ourselves the creeps while we wait for her book to hit the big screen. Here are the highlights from our e-chat.
Picture this: pretty little demonically possessed liars.
MTV News: We haven’t heard much about the movie since the initial announcement back in May. What can you tell us about its status?
Danielle Vega: Everything movie related is pretty hush hush right now, but I can tell you that Marlene King, the genius behind Pretty Little Liars, is hard at work on the script.
MTV: How about casting news?
DV: Nothing official, but Marlene mentioned that she had two Liars in mind while reading the book.
MTV: [silent screaming because how awesome would that be?!!]
Why she writes about good girls gone crazy
MTV: What drew you to the idea of writing about girls performing an exorcism?
DV: I love twisting expectations in my writing. With THE MERCILESS, I wanted to take characters who’d usually be seen as fairly harmless–teen good girls–and find a way to make them menacing.
Reading recs for “The Merciless” lovers
MTV: Are there any “Merciless”-flavored books or films you’d recommend to fans who need to fill the time between now and when the movie finally gets made?
DV: I was lucky to be a teen during the 90s, so I grew up on “The Craft” and “Scream.” “Pretty Little Liars” is a great watch-alike for modern teens, and I love all the teen horror novels hitting the stands now. Two faves: “Anna Dressed in Blood” and “Amity.”
Got a hankering for teen demon drama? “The Merciless” doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can find the book in stores now.
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