Fast Color

Lore & Background

The project was announced in January 2017, along with Gugu Mbatha-Raw's casting and that LD Entertainment would be fully financing the project. Principal photography began on March 13, 2017 in New Mexico and lasted for 28 days. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 10, 2018, and was released on April 19, 2019, by Lionsgate and Codeblack Films.

In the film's plot, set in the future American Midwest where it has not rained for eight years, Ruth is a homeless wanderer whose seizures trigger supernatural earthquakes. She reunites with her mother Bo, who has the ability to telekinetically disintegrate and reassemble objects, and her daughter Lila, who has similar powers. The story follows Ruth's attempt to reconnect with her powers while evading a scientist named Bill and local sheriff Ellis.

A television series based on the film was in development at Amazon Studios as of 2019, with Viola Davis' JuVee Productions producing and the film's original writers returning to script the show. However, as of February 2026, no such series has materialized.

Reader's Guide

Fast Color is notable for its grounded, matriarchal approach to the superhero genre, focusing on three generations of Black women with supernatural abilities. The film's critical reception was generally favorable, with an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 64 out of 100. Critics highlighted Gugu Mbatha-Raw's performance as a standout, and the film was praised for its uniqueness compared to other superhero films, though the script received some criticism. The film's themes of inheritance, family, and self-control, set against a drought-stricken future, offered a distinctive take on the genre. Its legacy includes the development of a television series adaptation at Amazon Studios, though that project has not yet been realized.

Did You Know?

• Principal photography took place in New Mexico over 28 days, beginning March 13, 2017.
• The film's plot is set in a future American Midwest where it has not rained for eight years.

The Story of Ruth and Her Family

Set in a drought-stricken future American Midwest where rain has been absent for eight years, the film follows Ruth, a homeless wanderer whose seizures unleash devastating earthquakes. Her journey begins at a diner where she encounters Bill, a scientist posing as a customer who attempts to extract blood samples for study. After wounding him and fleeing toward her family home, Ruth reunites with her mother Bo, a woman who can telekinetically disintegrate and reassemble objects while perceiving vibrant flashes she calls "the colors." Bo has been raising Ruth's daughter Lila, who inherited the same abilities but carries no memory of her mother. The narrative reveals that Ruth's powers once deteriorated into something destructive during her childhood, driving her to abandon her family. As Bill and Sheriff Ellis close in, Bo and Lila attempt to help Ruth reconnect with her abilities. The emotional climax arrives when Ruth relives a traumatic memory of nearly drowning her infant daughter, saves her, and causes the sky to finally rain. After Lila's kidnapping, Ruth conjures a storm to free her, and Bo sacrifices herself to the scientists, leaving a note directing mother and daughter toward Rome to find another woman with similar powers.

Production and Filming

Fast Color was first announced in January 2017, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw confirmed as the lead and Julia Hart set to direct from a screenplay she co-wrote with Jordan Horowitz. The production team included Horowitz alongside Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon, operating under the Original Headquarters and LD Entertainment banners, with LD Entertainment providing full financial backing. The remaining principal cast—Lorraine Toussaint, David Strathairn, Saniyya Sidney, and Christopher Denham—were brought on board in March 2017. Principal photography commenced on March 13, 2017, in New Mexico, and the entire shoot wrapped in just 28 days, a remarkably compressed schedule for a feature film involving supernatural effects and multiple locations. The film's world premiere took place at the South by Southwest festival on March 10, 2018. Distribution rights were subsequently acquired by Codeblack Films, which initially targeted a March 29, 2019, release date before pushing it to April 19, 2019, with Lionsgate stepping in as the distributing partner alongside Codeblack.

Critical Reception

Upon its theatrical release in April 2019, Fast Color earned broadly positive critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 83 percent approval rating across 88 reviews with an average score of 6.8 out of 10, while Metacritic assigned it a weighted average of 64 from 20 critics, landing in the "generally favorable" range. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus highlighted it as a grounded superhero story that prioritizes emotional depth over action, crediting Mbatha-Raw's singular performance for elevating what it described as uneven execution. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it three and a half out of four stars, praising Hart's direction as a "genuinely moving drama" with impressive special effects. However, not all reviews were uniformly enthusiastic. Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter felt the film's fierce message was undercut by what she called "child's-book clarity," while Amy Nicholson of Variety noted that the movie's "magical sparks don't quite congeal" despite its empathetic and unusual premise. The recurring critical thread was admiration for Mbatha-Raw's work and the film's distinctiveness within the superhero genre, tempered by reservations about the screenplay's execution.

Television Adaptation and Broader Legacy

Following the film's 2019 release, a television series adaptation entered development at Amazon Studios. The project was set to be produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon through their company JuVee Productions, with the film's original writing team—Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz—returning to script the show. This signaled an intention to expand the world of Ruth, Bo, and Lila into a longer narrative format, potentially exploring the mysterious note about another woman with powers in Rome. However, as of February 2026, no such series has materialized, leaving the adaptation in a state of prolonged development limbo. Beyond the television question, Fast Color occupies a notable position in cinematic history. It is catalogued among both the list of Black films of the 2010s and the list of Afrofuturist films, reflecting its blend of African-American family drama with speculative, supernatural elements set in a near-future drought-stricken landscape. The film's emphasis on matriarchal inheritance and the passing of powers between generations distinguishes it from conventional superhero narratives, and its critical reception—particularly the praise for Mbatha-Raw and the recognition of its thematic uniqueness—has kept it in conversation as a distinctive entry in the genre.

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