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“Uglies”: what we know so far


Netflix’s upcoming dystopian YA adaption is set to release September 14, 2024, and features the leads of Joey King, Chase Stokes, Laverne Cox, Brianne Tju, and Keith Powers.

The Netflix Original was adapted from Scott Westerfeld’s 2005 novel “Uglies”, a dystopian set story which follows a post scarcity future world where everyone is considered an ‘ugly’ until the age of 16 where they receive plastic surgery to turn them to a ‘pretty’.



Joey King, best known for her roles in ‘The Kissing Booth’ trilogy, stars in the lead role as teenage Tally Youngblood who rebels against the socially conformist surgery’s that are mandatory to erase physical differences.

According to the Economic Times, filming for Uglies took place over just two months, from October to December 2021. This followed lengthy development that kept the film at a standstill for 17 years, beginning in 2006 during the young adult-dystopian craze of the “Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter” series.



In an interview with Deadline at the 2022 “Bullet Train” premiere, Joey King gushed about her involvement and longtime love of the Uglies book series, stating “Being able what a dream realized! I was 11-years-old when I feel in love with the books.

The film will be directed by McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol), an American director and former producer in the music industry. McG is best known for his directorial stardom for “Charlie’s Angels” and “Terminator Salvation”, as well as his executive production of film series such as “The O.C.” and, “Supernatural”.

As the popularity of young adult dystopian film has dwindled in the last decade, it is exciting to foresee a possible resurgence of the genre with the upcoming release of Uglies.


Written by Scarlett
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