Riverdale star KJ Apa has officially joined the cast of The Hate U Give, replacing a key actor who was cut from the film earlier this year.

Directed by George Tillman Jr, the upcoming adaptation of Angie Thomas’ best-selling novel tells the story of a 16-year-old African American girl named Star (Amandla Stenberg) who grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, but now attends a suburban prep-school in a wealthy neighborhood not far from where she lives.

Star’s two very different worlds end up colliding after she becomes the only witness in a police officer shooting that leaves her unarmed childhood friend dead.

From there, Star gets swept up in the Black Lives Matter movement as she tries to find her voice, speak her truth, and bring justice to her friend.

Apa will star opposite Stenberg in the film as Star’s prep school boyfriend Chris, stepping into a role originally held by actor and YouTube personality Kian Lawley.

As we reported earlier this year, Lawley was dropped from the film after multiple videos surfaced featuring the YouTube star uttering racial slurs.

Though Lawley later apologized for his words, those involved with the film revealed they could not move forward with Lawley in the role given the film’s emphasis on the Black Lives Matter Movement.

While choosing to drop Lawley was a move applauded by many, it also left the studio with the task of reshooting all of the scenes featuring the character of Chris after having wrapped principle photography on the film.

Though The Hate U Give is Star’s story, fans of the book will know that Chris plays a pivotal role and is featured in some pretty important scenes.

The book also dives into how the crime Star witnesses ends up weighing on her relationship with Chris as she questions his ability to truly relate to her experience given his white privilege.

Now that KJ Apa has officially signed on, the cast and crew of The Hate U Give is wasting no time in getting the ball rolling on production again.

According to Deadline, Apa and the rest of the cast are already in Atlanta, and reshoots on the film are set to begin tomorrow (April 4).