See The Exchange Odessa A’zion And Her Replacement Had After She Said ‘F— That’ And Bailed On New Movie

It's definitely common for movies based on popular books to receive a lot of buzz for fans of the original work, but the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of Deep Cuts has been getting a lot more conversation around it than most. Much of that was due to the initial casting of Odessa A'zion in the lead role, a decision that drew backlash. The creatives behind the film have since made a significant casting change following the blowback. Now, A'zion and her predecessor have had a back-and-forth.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Runaways and The Last of Us alum Ariela Barer had been cast in the role of Zoe in the upcoming adaptation of the musical-themed romance Deep Cuts. The actress took to Instagram to convey how pumped she was to be part of the film, posting…

A’zion also celebrated Ariela’s Barer’s casting herself, posting on Instagram…

It certainly appears that many are happy with the way everything has ended up, but the love fest between Odessa A’zion and Ariela Barer wouldn’t end with that exchange. Barer made another Instagram post in which she specifically thanked A’zion for “leading with integrity” in her decision to step away from the role. A’zion then reposted the statement, sending the love back:

Thus far, the response to Barer's casting seems to be mostly positive. It was just a few weeks ago that current Hollywood IT girl Odessa A’zion, who was recently nominated for a BAFTA for her role in the critically acclaimed Marty Supreme, would be playing the lead role in Deep Cuts. Despite A'zion's rising status at the moment, the casting decision was met with frustration by fans since the character of Zoe is Mexican and Jewish in the book, and A’Zion is neither. Following the backlash, A’zion publicly said…

A’zion explained that she had originally auditioned for the lead female role, of Percy, who will be played by Cailee Spaeny, but had been offered the role of Zoe instead, and accepted without realizing the situation. She said she never would have accepted the role in the first place if she had realized how wrong she was for it.

While proper representation for minorities in films has been up and down over the years, there’s been a strong push recently to improve those opportunities, and positive strides have been made.

Now, that the casting debacle is behind everybody, the film version of Deep Cuts can move forward. It’s potentially a huge opportunity for Ariela Barer and, while Odessa A’zion clearly wanted to be part of the film, she seems more than at peace with the decision to step away from the production. All the while, time will tell how the rest of the cast of the aforementioned book adaptation (which is directed by Sean Durkin) will be filled out.