Clara Young


 * For the asteroid, see 2020 NA (Clara).

"It'll be like we never existed."

- Clara Young (Asteroid Clara)

Clara Young is a character played by Rebecca Rittenhouse that is planned to appear in the 2020 Toho disaster film, #JusticeForLove: End of the World, but did not appear in the final cut of the film. Her character made an appearance through the revised version of the film, titled Asteroid Clara, as the film's titular character.

#JusticeForLove: End of the World / Asteroid Clara
An astronomer working at an unspecified observatory in California, she has been fascinated on observing stars since she was seven years old, while learning the potential effects of impact events to Earth due to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. At the age of nine, she observed Comet Hale–Bopp when it passed perihelion, while the discovery of the Chicxulub crater provided more evidence that an asteroid impact triggered the extinction event.

Two decades later, while studying near-Earth objects, she would discover an unidentified object, which turns out to be an asteroid. After additional observations and calculating its orbit, she realizes that the object is 10-kilometers wide, and is on a collision course with Earth, large enough to trigger an extinction-level event. She informs NASA regarding her discovery, and the object is given the provisional designation "2020 NA" by the MPC. Rather than announcing the threat, it was decided to conceal the asteroid's existence to the public, which upsets her.

Following the destruction of Tokyo, Japan from an asteroid impact, she discovers that smaller fragments were responsible, and insists that the world should be informed regarding the threat, but the United States government still refuses her request by assuring the destruction of Tokyo was an isolated incident. Another fragment is later discovered that will hit Northern California, but she is unable to warn the people of the San Francisco Bay Area due to the government prohibiting her from making any public appearances. The fragment then impacts San Francisco, destroying the city in the process.

As the asteroid becomes visible to the naked eye, the United Nations finally reveals the asteroid's existence to the public, and the United States government makes a public apology to her. She returns on making public appearances as the discoverer of the asteroid, becoming a celebrity as she appears in magazines, talk shows, news programs, and in advertisements around the world, including in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus.

After the attempt to deflect the asteroid using ICBMs failed, she publishes the object's final trajectory to NASA, which shows that the asteroid will impact somewhere in western Europe on October 10, 2020. A third fragment also explodes over Los Angeles, which she failed to detect before its atmospheric entry, resulting in more casualties as the entire city is blasted apart by the shockwave.

She is last seen spending her final moments alone, dejected, while witnessing society quickly falling apart on television. To her dismay, despite years of studying asteroids and its potential threat to Earth, mankind had failed to prevent the incoming catastrophe, and is now about to meet the same fate as the non-avian dinosaurs. Her namesake asteroid finally impacts Earth on October 10, in central France, just east of Paris, triggering a global firestorm that renders the Earth's surface uninhabitable, causing an extinction event that wipes out most animal and plant life on the planet.

Quotes
"According to latest calculations of its final trajectory, the asteroid 2020 NA, or most of you like to call it Clara, is projected to impact somewhere in western Europe on October 10, approximately 2:47 pm, Central European Time."

"Tokyo was just the beginning, there could be more fragments coming straight at us. The world needs to know and we should be evacuating cities at this point!"

"People thought I am Satan or some kind of fulfilled prophecy just because the asteroid has my name in it. How ridiculous."

"Observing stars has been my life since I was seven. I was fascinated with them. When I saw Comet Hale–Bopp when I was nine, I didn't know comets and asteroids could destroy our planet."

Trivia

 * Despite all of her scenes being cut in the film, Adam McKay was certainly aware of the film's production, and Rittenhouse's role in the story influenced McKay to include a similar character in his own film, Don't Look Up, with Jennifer Lawrence being cast for the role.
 * In the United States, #JusticeForLove: End of the World was released under its American title Asteroid Clara. This name was chosen as it refers to both the asteroid and Rittenhouse's character. The revised version was also released under the same title.
 * Her surname is "Young", referencing Miss World 2013 Megan Young, also an actress under GMA Network.
 * In the film, it is not specified in which observatory she works at, but it is located somewhere in California, suggesting it could be the Goldstone Observatory, which is actually used in reality to observe and study near-Earth objects.
 * Prior to #JusticeForLove: End of the World, Rebecca Rittenhouse had no experience or even knowledge on sci-fi disaster films, and as a result, she had to extensively prepare for the role, including consulting various astronomers, and was also instructed to watch documentaries regarding astronomy and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction.
 * Her story and perspective is completely seperate compared to the rest of the film, which takes place in either San Francisco, Sacramento, or Manila. All of Rittenhouse's scenes takes place in southern California instead, with a few scenes taking place in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Also, she does not interact with the other characters of the film.
 * Contrary to popular belief, no new scenes were filmed for Asteroid Clara. All of the scenes were already filmed for #JusticeForLove: End of the World, but is simply removed in post-production. The revised version only restores all scenes featuring Rittenhouse.
 * An advertisement depicting her was shown in Times Square and in Piccadilly Circus, however, during the firestorm sequence, her advertisement was removed and is replaced by a static screen, shortly before the LED screens turn off as Times Square is destroyed.