Just last week it was announced that ‘Nashville’ star Aubrey Peeples, Disney stars Stefanie Scott and Hayley Kiyoko and relative newcomer Aurora Perrineau had landed the lead roles as Jem & The Holograms in the upcoming John M. Chu-directed live action movie based on the classic 80s cartoon/toy collection. (For the record, Peeples plays Jem/Jerrica, Scott plays Kimber, Kiyoko plays Aja and Perrineau plays Shana.)
Now it’s been revealed that Ryan Guzman has been cast as Jem/Jerrica’s love interest Rio Pacheco. In the original series, Rio was Jerrica’s boyfriend and Jem’s manager, but over time, the lines became blurred as Rio was drawn to both versions of the same woman.
Guzman has a recurring role on ‘Pretty Little Liars’ as Jake and also starred in ‘Step Up Revolution’ which was executive produced by John M. Chu.
Don’t expect this to be the last casting scoop regarding this movie, as it still hasn’t been revealed who will play The Misfits, the bad girl rock band that served as Jem & The Holograms’ rivals on the show.
Guzman himself made the big announcement about his inclusion in the movie. Watch the video below:
And just because, here are a couple of steamy modeling pics of Guzman:
Excuse me, was I writing something? Oh right…
The only question still lingering is, how will he look with purple hair and that famous Mardi Gras-colored tee shirt? (Actually does he have to wear the shirt? Or pants? Just curious. Could all of Rio’s scenes take place poolside?)
Guzman isn’t the only star speaking up about his role in the upcoming movie. Peeples and Scott took to the Radio Disney Awards red carpet and were eager to discuss their upcoming roles.
While Guzman expressed that he grew up in the 80s and remembered the property, Peeples and Scott weren’t born until after the show left the air and the dolls vanished from store shelves. However the girls seem committed and state that they have come to love the project through the “passionate” fan submissions, which Peeple stressed would be utilized in the finished film. Scott even revealed that she had learned to play the piano from scratch in order to bring authenticity to her depiction of Kimber and was even playing piano/keyboard on the soundtrack!
She enthusiastically described the process of getting to know the colorful world of ‘Jem & The Holograms’ through the casting process and seeing how strongly fans cherished their memories of the show. “Now we know how awesome it is, really. And I’m so excited that I get to be a part of something so iconic, and bringing it to life and bringing it to the big screen and being a part of the process. It’s really neat.”
Peeples added “We feel like a real girl band at this point… We’ve been working 24/7 on it. It was crazy… People are sending in their artwork and letters about how Jem inspired them. It’s all going to be used in the film.”
(If you would like to submit artwork or anything else to possibly appear in the movie, visit their Tumblr.)
Can you handle MORE Truly Outrageous news? Jem/Jerrica’s original speaking voice Samantha Newark and singing voice Britta Phillips (indie pop singer from Dean & Britta and Luna) are both filming cameos for the movie! Samantha, in particular is an active ambassador for Jem, appearing at several conventions every year and fully embracing gushing fans. (I… may be speaking from personal experience.)
As stated, we still don’t know who will play The Misfits (or Eric Raymond) or how big their role will be in the movie, but as soon as we know more, we’ll pass it along to you!
Show’s Over, Synergy!
Sources: SheKnows.com and InstinctMagazine
