If you spent any time on BookTok or YA forums in the mid-2000s, you know the drill. We waited nearly two decades for Scott Westerfeld’s dystopian world to hit the screen. When the Uglies movie finally dropped on Netflix in late 2024, the reaction was… mixed. Honestly? That’s putting it lightly. Some fans loved the neon-soaked visuals of New Pretty Town, while others felt the CGI didn't quite capture the "surgical perfection" described in the books. But now, the conversation has shifted. Everyone wants to know about the Pretties movie.
Is it happening?
Netflix hasn't officially greenlit the sequel yet, which is basically the standard operating procedure for them these days. They wait. They crunch the numbers. They look at "completion rates"—that metric that tracks if people actually finished the first movie or just turned it off halfway through. If you're a fan of Tally Youngblood’s journey from a rebel to a brainwashed socialite, the wait is agonizing.
The Reality of Making The Pretties Movie Right Now
Hollywood is in a weird spot. High-concept sci-fi isn't the "sure thing" it was during the Hunger Games era. To get the Pretties movie off the ground, director McG and the producers have to justify the budget. And let's be real: Pretties is a much more expensive book to film than Uglies.
Think about the setting.
In the first story, we spend a lot of time in the Smoke. It’s woods. It’s rusty ruins. It’s gritty. But Pretties? That book is almost entirely set in the high-tech, lavish, and physically impossible world of the city after Tally gets her "pretty" surgery. We’re talking about hoverball tournaments, constant parties, and architectural marvels that look like they were designed by an AI on a fever dream. That requires a massive VFX budget. If Netflix felt the first movie's effects were a bit "uncanny valley," they might be hesitant to double down on a sequel that requires even more digital polish.
Joey King, who plays Tally and also serves as an executive producer, has been vocal about her love for the series. She’s the engine here. Without her pushing, the first film might have stayed in development hell forever (where it sat for 15 years).
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Why the Ending of Uglies Changed Everything
If you watched the first movie, you noticed the ending was a bit different from the 2005 novel. In the book, Tally’s decision to go back to the city and become pretty is a gut-wrenching sacrifice. It’s quiet. It’s tragic.
The movie went for something a bit more "action-heavy."
By showing Tally’s transformation more explicitly—those final shots of her "new" face—the filmmakers basically backed themselves into a corner. They’ve already committed to the visual language of the sequel. In the Pretties movie, the stakes change from "running away" to "waking up." The plot of the second book is significantly more psychological. It’s about "the bubbly"—that feeling of mental clarity Tally and her friends try to achieve to bypass the brain lesions the government gave them during surgery.
How do you film "clarity"?
In the books, they do it through extreme thrills. Bungee-jumping without a net. Sky-boarding during electrical storms. It’s intense. It’s also kinda dark when you think about it. These kids are literally self-harming via adrenaline just to be able to think for themselves. It’s a sophisticated critique of celebrity culture and forced conformity that feels even more relevant in 2026 than it did twenty years ago.
The Casting Hurdles
Then there’s the cast.
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- Joey King is a massive star now. Her schedule is packed.
- Keith Powers (David) and Chase Stokes (Peris) are equally busy.
- The "Pretty" versions of these characters need to look… well, different.
In the lore, the surgery changes your bone structure, your eyes, your skin. You become a "Pretty." The first movie used a lot of digital smoothing and contact lenses to achieve this effect. For the Pretties movie, they’d need to decide if they’re going to use even more heavy-handed CGI or rely on traditional makeup. It’s a risky move. If the "Pretties" look too fake, the audience loses the emotional connection. If they look too human, the whole point of the dystopian commentary is lost.
What Scott Westerfeld Has Said
Scott is pretty active on social media. He’s always been supportive of the adaptation, even when fans were skeptical about the changes. He knows that a book and a movie are two different beasts. He’s also expanded the universe with the Impostors series, meaning there’s plenty of material if Netflix decides to turn this into a full-blown franchise.
However, authors rarely have the final say. It’s about the "Views in the first 28 days."
The first film hit the Number 1 spot in dozens of countries. That’s a huge plus. But the critical reviews were harsh. On Rotten Tomatoes, it struggled to stay above the 20% mark with critics, though the audience score was significantly higher. Netflix often values audience "stickiness" over what critics think, but a low critical score can hurt the "prestige" of the brand.
The Plot We Expect to See
If the sequel follows the book Pretties, Tally is going to be a member of the "Crims." This is a social clique that prizes being "bubbly" and "clueless" but also pushes the boundaries of safety.
Tally has forgotten most of her time in the Smoke.
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That’s the tragedy. The surgery doesn't just make you beautiful; it makes you "pretty-minded." You become vapid. You become easy to control. The conflict arises when a message from her past self arrives, reminding her of the promise she made to David and the rebels. Watching Joey King play someone who is essentially "lobotomized by beauty" would be a massive acting challenge. It’s a far cry from the headstrong girl we saw in the first film.
Is Dystopia Still "In"?
We had a huge wave of dystopian films in the 2010s. Divergent, Maze Runner, The 5th Wave. Then, the bubble burst. People got tired of "The Chosen One" fighting a generic evil government.
But Uglies is different because it’s about body image.
In a world of Instagram filters and "FaceTune," the themes of the Pretties movie are actually more biting now than they were during the initial YA boom. We are living in the world Scott Westerfeld warned us about. We’re all trying to look "pretty" for the camera. We’re all dealing with the mental fog of constant stimulation. If the sequel leans into that—the horror of losing your personality to a surgical standard—it could be a massive hit.
The Wait Continues
Usually, Netflix announces sequels within three to six months of a premiere. We are currently in that "gray zone." If we don't hear anything by mid-2026, the chances of seeing Tally’s "Crim" era on screen start to drop significantly.
Production cycles for these movies are long. Even if they announced it tomorrow, we wouldn’t see a trailer until late 2027. The actors are aging, too. While Joey King can definitely still play a teen/young adult, the window for a YA franchise isn't infinite.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you want to see this movie happen, you actually have more power than you think in the current streaming economy.
- Re-watch the first movie. Re-watches count heavily toward "engagement" metrics. If Netflix sees a spike in viewership months after release, it signals a cult following.
- Engage on social media. Use the tags. Netflix’s social listening tools are constantly scanning for what’s trending.
- Read the books. If the movie never happens, the story is already finished. Pretties, Specials, and Extras complete Tally's arc perfectly. You don't need a screen to see how it ends.
- Support the creators. Follow Scott Westerfeld and the cast. Often, they’ll drop "behind the scenes" hints or updates on contract negotiations before the official trades (like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter) get the scoop.
The fate of the Pretties movie hangs in the balance of a spreadsheet. It’s a bit ironic, really. A story about fighting a cold, calculated system is currently being judged by a cold, calculated algorithm. But for those of us who grew up wanting a hoverboard, we’re holding out hope that Tally Youngblood gets to finish her revolution.