"Outer Banks" heartthrob Chase Stokes joins forces with the captivating Laverne Cox in a thrilling Netflix venture helmed by the renowned McG. Joey King, a star who has soared from the teen sensation of "The Kissing Booth" trilogy to a breakout role in "The Act," finally embarks on her own dystopian odyssey akin to the worlds of "Divergent" and "The Hunger Games."
King leads the charge in "Uglies," a tale set in a haunting near-future where adolescence is a treacherous journey, as teenagers are relentlessly pursued and compelled to undergo transformative plastic surgeries, striving for an impossible ideal of "perfection." Picture it as a twisted mirror image of the Cannes buzzworthy "The Substance," but nestled deep within the eerie heart of a forest-cloaked dystopia. Amidst the dystopian backdrop, the familiar YA tropes of a passionate love triangle and genre-defining elements intertwine, weaving a captivating narrative.
Stokes, along with Keith Powers, Laverne Cox, Brianne Tju, and Jan Luis Castellanos, grace the screen as co-stars, bringing depth and dimension to this futuristic tale. Under McG's expert direction, a script penned by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, and Whit Anderson, based on Scott Westerfeld's seminal novel, unfolds with breathtaking intensity.
King herself has previously divulged to IndieWire that each project she undertakes, from her early days in "Moneyball" to the epic grandeur of "The Dark Knight Rises," and even Hulu's heart-wrenching Holocaust miniseries "We Were the Lucky Ones," serves as a time capsule, encapsulating the essence of her life during that period. "I find it incredibly special to look back on my earlier works like 'The Kissing Booth' and realize, 'Ah, this is where I was in life at that moment,'" she muses, cherishing the ability to preserve fleeting moments in the form of film and television.
Speaking of her approach to acting, King reveals, "I'm not a Method actor. It requires a unique skill set that I admire in others, but I'm fortunate to be able to leave the day's emotions at the door. Of course, some days are more emotionally taxing than others, and on those occasions, a heart-to-heart over FaceTime or with friends can be just the remedy."
As for the burgeoning careers of "Uglies" cast members, Stokes is just embarking on a promising film journey alongside his "Outer Banks" cohorts Madelyn Cline and Drew Starkey. Starkey, in particular, has a landmark year ahead, starring in Luca Guadagnino's Venice-bound film "Queer," led by Daniel Craig, an adaptation of William S. Burroughs' seminal 1985 novella, penned by Justin Kuritzkes, which will also grace the screens of the New York Film Festival.
Produced by a dream team including McG, John Davis, Jordan Davis, Robyn Meisinger, and Mary Viola, with Joey King executive producing alongside Jamie King, Scott Westerfeld, John Fox, and Jenny Hink, "Uglies" promises to be a visually stunning and emotionally charged addition to Netflix's ever-growing library, premiering on September 13.
