Uglies writer explains big Peris change
Uglies author Scott Westerfeld has weighed in on a big element the movie adaptation changed about his book series.
Now on Netflix, the YA science-fiction film from director McG is set in a post-apocalyptic future where people receive surgical procedures to make them "Pretties" on their 16th birthdays. Joey King stars as protagonist Tally Youngblood, a teenage girl who sees her best friend Peris (Chase Stokes) transform completely after receiving his surgery.
The movie takes a different road from the books as it gives Peris a more prominent role. After undergoing the procedure, Peris is also offered to become a "Special", a "Pretty" with superhuman abilities who hunts down escaped "Uglies".
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Speaking on Peris' betrayal of Tally in the film, Westerfeld explained having a major story arc for Stokes' character worked better for the screen.
"Peris kind of fizzles out as a character [in the books]. He chickens out multiple times," Westerfeld told Deadline.
"He's like Tally, if Tally didn't have that drive or if Tally didn't have Shay pushing her. And so he's a road not taken for her, which is interesting in a quiet, literary way," he added.
"But movies have a different aesthetic and they like bigger story arcs. So to make him Special and to make him betray her in a different way, in a much more active way seemed like a bigger move to us."
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Director McG also touched upon the film's big cliffhanger, so you may want to stop reading now if you haven't watched Uglies just yet.
In the final scenes, Peris has a final moment of recognition with Tally right before he falls off a roof, with his fate left as ambiguous as his loyalties.
"I want [viewers to wonder] is he or isn't he alive in there? Is he or isn't he good or bad?" McG said. "Has Cable won or has his affection for his friend won out in the end? And I love stories that explore those emotions."
While this and other loose ends may be explored in a possible sequel continuing Westerfeld's book series, Netflix hasn't given the green light to a second movie just yet.
Uglies is now streaming on Netflix.
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