Need yet another YA adaptation set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, à la “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” “The Maze Runner,” etc.? Not to worry, Netflix has that covered next month with McG‘s “Uglies,” the director’s latest project for the streamer.
Based on the first book of Scott Westerfield‘s series of the same name, “Uglies” is set in a future that imposes cosmetic surgery on its teenage citizens before they’re allowed to enter civic society. 16-year-old Tally can’t wait to join the rest of the world, but after a close friend runs away, she sets out on a journey that upends the future she thought she wanted. Sense anything derivative in that set-up? No matter: Westerfield’s book series is an NYT bestseller, so there’s at least some marginal quality to these proceedings (at least, let’s hope there is).
“Uglies” stars Joey King, Keith Powers, Chase Stokes, Brianne Tju, and Jan Luis Castellanos. Charmin Lee and Laverne Cox round out the main cast.
Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and White Anderson adapt Westerfield’s novel for McG’s film. Along with directing, McG also leads producers with John Davis, Jordan Davis, Robyn Meisinger, and Mary Viola. King, Jamie King, Westerfield, John Fox, and Jenny Hink executive produce “Uglies.”
“Uglies” marks the fifth straight film McG has made for Netflix, after “Family Switch, “Rim Of The World,” and the two “The Babysitter” movies. So is “Uglies” the nadir of McG’s career after directing the 2000s “Charlie’s Angels” movies and “We Are Marshall,” or is this just another flick made by a journeyman-turned-Netflix workhorse? Subscribers to the streamer find out when “Uglies” hits Netflix on September 13. Watch a trailer for the film below.