Disney+ Holes Reboot Confirms Cast (And How They’re Changing the Main Character)

Disney+ dropped a lot of information about its potential series remake of Holes on Tuesday, including the entire main cast and a major change for the main character. While both the original novel and the 2003 movie centered around Stanley Yelnats and a juvenile detention camp for boys, this version will swap genders, starring Shay Rudolph as the main character, Hayley, as she is sent to a detention center for teenage girls. The Warden has also been gender-swapped, and will now be played by Greg Kinnear, while the counselor Mr. Pedanski, mockingly referred to by the boys as “Mom,” has been replaced with “Sissy,” played by Aidy Bryant. It seems like these changes will have ripple effects on the rest of the characters and story as well, though the show only has a pilot order so far.

First published in 1998, Holes is a young adult novel written by Louis Sachar that explores the injustice of the penal system, as well as the concept of fate and predestination. The 2003 movie by Disney starred Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats, who was falsely convicted of theft and sent to Camp Green Lake in Texas. According to a report by Variety, this streaming series will star Rudolph as Hayley, but it’s unclear if her last name will be a palindrome, or if details of her backstory and the camp’s history will be changed.

We know that the supporting characters have been changed considerably — Flor Delis Alicea plays a camper named Queenie, Anire Kim Amoda plays Thumbelina, Iesha Daniels plays Mars, Sophie Dieterlen plays Sticky, Alexandra Doke plays Eyeball, and Maeve Press plays Shrimp. The original nicknames — Caveman, X-Ray, Armpit, Magnet, Zig-Zag, Twitch, Barf Bag, and Zero — are nowhere to be seen. Rounding out the cast announced so far is Noah Cottrell as Kitch, who prepares all the food for the camp.

[RELATED: Every MCU Disney+ Series, Ranked (Including Daredevil: Born Again)]

The showrunner for this series is Liz Phang, best known as a writer and producer on Yellowjackets, The Haunting of Hill House, The Strain, and Colony. She has also worked on Foundation and Lock & Key, proving her proficiency in page-to-screen adaptations.

While these announcements tell us a lot, they also open up all kinds of new questions about where this show is going and how the story might change. However, so far Disney has only ordered a pilot, so we don’t know for sure if it will make it to air. The casting and other talent is certainly promising, but this production still isn’t a guarantee. in the meantime, the 2003 film version of Holes is streaming now on Disney+, while Sachar’s novel is available in print, digital, and audiobook formats.