“The Purge” Prequel Sets Two Leads, Including “Insecure” Star Y’lan Noel (Exclusive)

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Universal and Blumhouse are turning to two up-and-coming actors to lead the fourth chapter of their lucrative Purge franchise, as Y’lan Noel (Insecure) and Lex Scott Davis (Training Day) are set to star in the chilling prequel, the Tracking Board has exclusively learned.

Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands) will direct from a script by The Purge creator James DeMonaco, who returns to produce Blumhouse chief Jason Blum and Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, as well as Sebastien K. Lemercier.

According to DeMonaco (via Vulture), the film will be a crowdpleaser that will take place on Staten Island and explore the first experimental Purge, including how America got to such a dark place.

In keeping with recent tradition, Universal will release THE PURGE: THE ISLAND on July 4, 2018.

The Purge prequel will be the first major studio film for Noel, who’s so good as Issa’s on-again/off-again romantic interest Daniel on HBO’s Insecure. The project is a major coup for the actor, who is represented by WME and LINK Entertainment.

Davis made a name for herself by playing the title character in Lifetime’s TV movie Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, which led to a recurring role on the TV series Training Day. She’s repped by ICM Partners and Luber Roklin Entertainment.

A representative for Blumhouse declined to comment for this story.

 Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief