New Jem and the Holograms Movie Photo Released, Plus Find Out Which 2 Characters Are Gay in Comic Book Series

Both are based on the hit '80s cartoon about a girl and her friends who transform into a rock back, with the help of a holographic computer

By Corinne Heller Feb 26, 2015 11:00 PMTags
Jem and The HologramsUniversal Pictures

Here's your first front-row look at the live-action Jem and the Holograms film!

The movie is based on the hit, colorful '80s Hasbro cartoon series about a girl and her friends who, with the help of a holographic computer named Synergy, transform into a rock band. A new photo from the film, released this week, shows Hayley Kiyoko as blue-haired Aja, Aubrey Peeples as the pale pink-haired main star Jem, aka Jerrica, and Stefanie Scott as Kimber, who sports hot pink hair, all performing onstage.

And speaking of pink, like the cartoon, the movie will have a lot it, according to Peeples.

"Nobody will be disappointed with the hair, makeup and the fashion," she told E! News last June. "We had a lot of different performance looks, each one is truly outrageous. I look at pictures and I can't believe that's me. It's so weird."

A sneak peek photo showing close-ups of the The Holograms was released last year. Aurora Perrineau plays fourth member Shana.

Jon M. Chu, the director of G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Justin Bieber's Believe documentary, is helming the new Jem and the Holograms film, which also stars '80s icon Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis.

The movie hits theaters in October. In March, a new Jem and the Holograms comic book series is set to be released.

Both are set in present time. The film version of Jem has been described as an "online recording sensation" and "underground video sensation," while the comic shows the group taking selfies!

Oh, and the printed series also changed something else.

"Kimber and Stormer are gay and we're discussing a few others," artist Ross Campbell told The Advocate, when asked about LGBT characters. "Beyond those I'm really hoping to see some more queer characters. It just really needs to happen. I'd love to have some gay Holograms or Misfits fans in the story. That would be awesome. Maybe they could be on the Holograms' street team."

Stormer is the blue-haired keytarist of rival group The Misfits.

"It's only natural that a modern Jem includes additional diversity," writer Kelly Thompson added. "Kimber and Stormer are indeed both out gay characters in the comic and as Tumblr will very excitedly let you know, we're going to be exploring a romantic relationship between the two characters. We have some other plans for LGBTA+ characters as well but it's still early days and we're still figuring out how some things can fit together to tell the best possible story."

The sexual orientations of all Jem and the Holograms characters had never been revealed before. On the TV show, Kimber dated several guys and even almost married one, while Stormer's love life remained a mystery. Jem had a long-term boyfriend, Rio Pacheco. Pretty Little Liars actor Ryan Guzman plays the character in the movie.

Check out advance covers of the new Jem and the Holograms comic book series below.

Ross Campbell / IDW Publishing
Ross Campbell / IDW Publishing