Uglies: What we know about the upcoming YA book adaptation

Based on Scott Westerfeld’s popular YA dystopian novel, upcoming Netflix movie Uglies stars Joey King and Laverne Cox and will be released later this year.

Check out the trailer below and read on to find out everything we know about the exciting new adaptation…

Tell us more about this book series…

Uglies is a book series by Scott Westerfeld for young adults and centres on the character of Tally Youngblood who lives in a post-apocalyptic future society where teenagers, upon reaching their sixteenth birthday, undergo a surgery to mold them into a so-called ‘Pretty’. Though Tally is excited to finally become a ‘Pretty’, when her friend runs away into the mysterious ‘Smoke’ where the residents oppose this surgery and the government, Tally starts to realise everything she dreamed of might not be right after all.

The first book was released in 2005 and the series was originally intended to be a trilogy (comprising Uglies, Pretties, and Specials), but that turned into a quartet (Extras) and then in 2018 Westerfeld announced an extra four books.

Okay, and what about this adaptation of the books?

Uglies is being adapted by Netflix, and stars Joey King as Tally Youngblood. And you know what? She’s a fan of the book, first reading it when she was home from school sick when she was 11 years old after her sister insisted she read it.

“She was like, ‘Just read the first chapter and if you don’t wanna continue, then you don’t have to,’” King recalled to Tudum recently. Turns out, that first chapter turned King into a big fan of the books. “I was like, ‘I wanna play Tally Youngblood someday,’ ” King said.

King is also executive producer of the adaptation.

So who’s directing?

Uglies will be directed and produced by McG, whose past directing credits include Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation and Family Switch. Oh and he’s also dipped his toe in the YA book adaptation waters, directing an episode of Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments.

“The film’s really about beauty as interior,” McG said. “It’s a commentary on what we’re experiencing today, where so many people can’t just take a photograph and post it on social media. You’ve got to put it through the filter, you’ve got to edit it, you’ve got to do the thing to present this idealized version of beauty. And this is a moment to say, ‘Take a deep breath, work on your inner game, love people for who they are, and accept yourself for who you are,’ and strangely, it’s a much more fruitful way to live.”

Westerfeld is also a fan of the director: “Here’s a super important thing about Uglies: It’s set in a dystopia, but it’s full of people who are having fun anyway,” he said. “The ‘uglies’ play pranks, ride hoverboards, and sneak into parties. They jump off buildings in bungee jackets! If you put McG in a dystopia, he would totally be that guy.

“I was thinking, ‘Damn. This guy really cares about the book, but also the world inside the book: all the little details that make a story feel specific and real.’ ”

To get the adaptation right, Westerfeld and McG would hang out on set of the movie: “McG and I first met on the movie set,” Westerfeld says. “He was carrying this dog-eared copy of Uglies, feathered with a hundred Post-its. We were shooting Tally’s travels in the wild that day, and McG’s first question was, ‘Does SpagBol taste bad the first time Tally eats it? Or is it only terrible after she’s been eating it for two weeks straight?’”

“I spoke to Scott extensively about the book, and I wanted to make sure that we got it right,” McG added. “He was such a wonderful collaborator every step of the way. So we were lucky to have Scott on board.”

Oh and for those keen-eyed fans? “[Scott’s] in the movie for those of you who can find the moment,” McG revealed.