The trailer for The Hate U Give, the hotly anticipated movie based on the best-selling young-adult novel by Angie Thomas, debuted Sunday night at the BET Awards, and it’s a must-watch.
Amandla Stenberg, who made her big-screen debut starring in another YA-novel-to-movie adaptation, The Hunger Games, commands viewers’ attention as Starr Carter, a young black teen navigating the world between her black neighborhood and the mostly white prep school she attends. When she bears witness to one of her best childhood friends, Khalil, being gunned down by a cop, Starr must not only come to terms with his death but also choose what role she’ll play in carrying forward the fight for justice.
The movie, directed by George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food), promises considerable star power, with Regina Hall starring as Starr’s mom and perennial-dad Russell Hornsby playing Starr’s father. Common and Anthony Mackie also join the cast, as does Issa Rae, playing an activist who helps Starr find her voice.
When the novel debuted last year, it was heralded as one of the first major young-adult books to center around the Black Lives Matter movement. The Hate U Give arrives in theaters Oct. 19.