Six Years On: Revisiting *The Darkest Minds*, the Sci-Fi Flop That Tried to Spark a Franchise

It's funny how time flies, isn't it? Six whole years have already slipped by since the summer of 2018, a time that saw the release of The Darkest Minds. For those of us who remember it, or perhaps, for those who tried their best to forget it, this was a film that genuinely aimed for something big. It arrived with a certain buzz, primarily because it was based on a popular young adult novel and boasted a talented lead in Amandla Stenberg, an actress who, let's be honest, always brings a compelling presence to the screen.

On paper, the premise actually sounded pretty intriguing, didn't it? Picture this: a mysterious pandemic wipes out most of the world's children, and the few survivors develop extraordinary superpowers. Naturally, the government, being the government, decides these kids are a threat and rounds them up into brutal 'rehabilitation camps.' Our protagonist, Ruby Daly (played by Stenberg), is one such survivor, blessed—or cursed—with immensely powerful psionic abilities. She manages to escape and, as these stories often go, joins a group of other super-powered runaways on a perilous journey to find a safe haven. It certainly had the DNA of a potential X-Men meets Hunger Games hybrid, a formula that had seen great success in the past.

The film was an adaptation of Alexandra Bracken's beloved YA novel series, and it even had Jennifer Yuh Nelson, known for her fantastic work on the Kung Fu Panda sequels, at the helm for her live-action directorial debut. So, with a solid literary foundation and a director who knew how to handle action and character, there were definitely reasons for optimism. Amandla Stenberg, coming off powerful performances in films like The Hate U Give and The Hunger Games, seemed like the perfect choice to carry such a complex and emotionally charged role.

But oh, how quickly those hopes can be dashed, right? Despite the promising setup and the dedicated cast, The Darkest Minds just never really clicked with audiences or critics. The reviews, well, they weren't exactly glowing, to put it mildly. It currently holds a rather disheartening 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, which, for a big-budget sci-fi spectacle, isn't the kind of score you want to see. Many felt it was derivative, rushed, and struggled to truly differentiate itself in an already crowded genre market.

Financially, it was a similar story of disappointment. Produced on a budget of around $34 million, it barely managed to pull in $41 million worldwide. When you factor in marketing and distribution costs, that's simply not enough to warrant a sequel, let alone launch a successful franchise. And sadly, that's precisely what happened; any grand plans for adapting the rest of Bracken's series were quickly shelved. It’s a shame, really, because sometimes these ambitious projects, even with all the right ingredients, just don't quite come together in the way everyone hopes.

Looking back, The Darkest Minds serves as a poignant reminder that even with a talented cast, a popular source material, and a solid directorial vision, cinematic success is never guaranteed. Sometimes a film just misses the mark, or perhaps the timing isn't quite right for its particular story. And speaking of films from that era, 2018 also saw the release of other diverse titles, like the animated feature Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, which notably featured the voice talents of Stranger Things alum Gaten Matarazzo. But for The Darkest Minds, it’s a tale of ambition that, six years later, remains largely a footnote in the history of YA sci-fi cinema.