Book to Screen
‘Lights Out’ Dream Cast: Drake Rodger & More Picks for Navessa Allen’s Dark Romance
Now that so many romantasy books are being adapted — you already know we’ll be sat for Fourth Wing and Quicksilver — we figure it’s only a matter of time until dark romances start making their way to the screen. We’d wager that the subgenre is nearly as popular as romantasy, if not more. We’ve seen so many take off on TikTok.
Navessa Allen’s Lights Out is one of them. In fact, when we checked in with a few indie bookstores, the first and newly released second book in the Into Darkness series were top sellers in June. After seeing so many people recommend it over the past year, we finally picked it up, and needless to say, we totally understand the hype. It’s got incredible chemistry between the leads, spice out the wazoo, dark humor, and loads of suspense. In other words, it’s got all of the ingredients for a stellar TV show or movie.
The rights to Lights Out haven’t been picked up yet, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and find the perfect actors for Aly, Josh, and more. Let us know what you think of our picks in the comments, and drop your own suggestions, too!
Drake Rodger as Josh Hammond
Josh is brooding and deadly serious at times, but he can flip a switch and come across as totally hilarious and sweet. When we were trying to think of an actor that could pull that off — and that was around 6 feet 4 inches with “heartbreaker-level good looks,” as Aly would say — Drake Rodger came to mind. The Winchesters star has got the look and build down, and after watching his latest turn in Motorheads, we know he can play a morally grey character believably. Just put some fake tats on him, and he’s totally Josh!
Ella Hunt as Aly Cappellucci
We struggled to find someone who fit Aly’s description perfectly, but we think Dickinson‘s Ella Hunt is pretty close. She’s great at comedy, which is necessary for Aly, and she can handle characters that are strong and smart. She’s not quite as tall as the ER nurse, but that’s not a total dealbreaker for us. With some fight training, she could totally be a convincing Aly.
Evan Peters as Bradley Bluhm
Maybe it’s because he’s already played a creepy serial killer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, but we can see Evan Peters taking on the role of Brad. He has the range to embody the entitled, menacing character, and he fits the physical description: light brown hair and an age-ambiguous face.
Fabian Frankel as Nico “Junior” Trocci
As much as we don’t like Fabien Frankel‘s Ser Criston Cole on House of the Dragon, he does prove he can play a complicated, dark character well. That being said, we can envision him as mobster Junior. And honestly, we did ship him with Rhaenyra at first, so he can play a swoonworthy love interest, which Junior becomes in book two, Caught Up.
Michael Imperioli as Nico Trocci
The Sopranos and Goodfellas actor Michael Imperioli‘s got the gangster thing down pat, so he could easily step into the shoes of Aly’s mobster uncle, Nico. Imperioli isn’t quite as short as the character, but he’s more than capable enough of making himself seem unimposing like Nico.
Teyonah Parris as Tanya
For Tanya, we can picture Teyonah Parris. The Marvels actress knows how to play fierce, competent, no-nonsense characters like Tanya, who’s a well-rounded trauma nurse. She’s about a decade younger than the character, but we don’t think that’s the be-all and end-all.
