The Darkest Minds is a 2018 American dystopian science fiction film directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, written by Chad Hodge and produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Levine. The film stars Amandla Stenberg, Harris Dickinson, Mandy Moore and Gwendoline Christie. Based on Alexandra Bracken's 2012 young adult novel of the same name, it follows a group of children who are on the run from the government after obtaining superpowers due to a mysterious infection.

The Darkest Minds was released in the United States on August 3, 2018. It received negative reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb.^[2]

In a dystopian future, a plague (called Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration) kills nearly 90 percent of the children in the United States. Those who survive develop superpowers. They are classified by color: Green (increased intelligence), Blue (telekinesis), Yellow (can manipulate electricity), Red (can control fire), and Orange (telepathy and mind control). Children who are Red and Orange are considered so dangerous they are euthanized. The rest are confined to camps.

Ruby Daly is an Orange, but she touches the doctor who is classifying her and puts the thought in his head that she is a Green and she is placed in a camp. Six years later, a resistance group called the Children's League helps her escape from the camps. Cate, a worker at the camp, gives Ruby a panic button that can be activated as a tracker if she is in danger. While touching Rob, another League member, Ruby becomes suspicious of their intentions. She escapes the League with a mute girl named Suzume (Zu), a Yellow. Zu takes Ruby to Liam, a Blue, and his friend Charles (Chubs), a Green. The three agree to let Ruby join them as they try to make their way to "East River," a purported safe haven led by an Orange named the "Slip Kid."

In an abandoned mall, they cross paths with another group of survivors. The others know where East River is, but the only clue they reveal — due to the subtle influence of Ruby's power — are the letters "E.D.O.". Chubbs eventually deduces that this is a radio frequency, which reveals a transmission that East River is in Lake Prince, Virginia.

The group surprises Ruby by telling her they’re taking her to her former home in Salem, Virginia hoping she can reconcile with her parents. Seeing them through the glass door, she realizes she made them forget her and runs away. She meets up with Liam, who comforts her. They begin to develop a romantic connection, but Ruby refuses to touch him, fearing her powers will hurt him. Lady Jane has captured Chubbs and Zhu then ambushes Ruby and Liam, but Ruby overpowers Lady Jane so that they can escape, revealing her Orange identity to the group. The group ditches their van after a small misunderstanding and then successfully walk to the safe haven in East River.

At East River, Slip Kid is revealed to be the president's son, Clancy Gray. He teaches Ruby how to control her powers, and eventually convinces Ruby to help him figure out how to erase people's memories when she asks for a homesick Chubbs to use the computer to contact his parents. During this process, Clancy controls her mind and tries to kiss her.

It is revealed that Clancy is using his powers to control the government, and wants to use his new memory-erasing powers to turn Ruby to his side and forget her friends, but she manages to escape with the others. Liam flees with all of the haven children, while Ruby faces off against Clancy, destroying the camp and making her escape with Chubs. Chubs is severely injured, leaving Ruby no choice but to use her panic button to call the League for help.

The League gets Chubs to a hospital and lets Zu leave with a protective family. Ruby convinces Cate to release Liam in return for taking his place as a soldier in the League. Knowing that Liam will never leave without her, Ruby kisses him and erases all of his memories of herself. Liam leaves the camp, while Ruby begins her training with her fellow powered children in the League. Elsewhere, Clancy looks over the US Army and government forces.

On September 15, 2014, it was announced that 20th Century Fox had bought the film rights to Alexandra Bracken's young adult novel The Darkest Minds, the first book in her The Darkest Minds series. Shawn Levy would produce the film along with Dan Levine and Dan Cohen through his 21 Laps Entertainment, while the television writer Chad Hodge was hired to write the adaptation.^[3] On July 12, 2016, it was reported that animation director Jennifer Yuh Nelson had been hired to direct the film, and it would be her first live-action project.^[4]

The Darkest Minds is based on the first of four novels, three novellas and three short stories in The Darkest Minds series, and the film's ending sets the stage for future action. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson has stated that she would be happy to return for a second film in the series, although no definitive plans have been announced. However reports indicate that sequels are unlikely given the poor critical and box office performance of the film.^[25][26]