The Uglies is an upcoming American science fiction action-fantasy directed by McG, with a script written by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson.[1] The film stars Joey King, who additionally serves as executive producer, in the lead role. Based on the novel Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the plot centers around a future post-apocalyptic dystopian society.
| The Uglies | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | McG |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Uglies by Scott Westerfeld |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Xiaolong Liu |
| Edited by | Martin Bernfeld |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
In development since 2006, before entering a period of development hell, the movie was filmed in 2021. The Uglies is intended to be released via streaming as a Netflix exclusive.
Tally Youngblood lives in a future dystopian society, where all teenagers under go a surgery at the age of sixteen, removing physical differences and turns everyone into what the society determines to be "pretty" by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. Suspicious rumors suggest that the government also alters their brains to make its citizens easier to control.[2]
In 2006, a feature film adaptation of Uglies was announced to be in development when 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights to the novel, with John Davis attached to the project.[3] The movie was intended to begin production thereafter, but entered a period of development hell.
In September 2020, the project re-entered development with Joey King signing on to star in the lead role as Tally Youngblood. King reportedly signed onto the project, after previously being a fan of the Uglies novels.[4][5] McG signed on to direct, with Krista Vernoff serving as screenwriter. John Davis, Jordan Davis, Robyn Meisinger, Dan Spilo, McG, and Mary Viola will produce the movie. The project will be a joint-venture production between Davis Entertainment Company, Anonymous Content, Industry Entertainment, Wonderland Sound and Vision, and Netflix Original Films. The film is intended to release through streaming exclusively on Netflix.[2][6] Later that year, Keith Powers, Brianne Tju, Chase Stokes, and Laverne Cox joined the supporting cast.[4][5]
In February 2022, King revealed that production had already finished, and had taken place in Atlanta, Georgia in December of 2021.[7]
The Uglies is intended to be released exclusively on Netflix at an as-of-yet unspecified date.[5]