Will there be a sequel?

NOTE: Major spoilers for Netflix's Uglies follow — turn back now if you don't want to be spoiled

Uglies is streaming now on Netflix and is definitely setting the stage for at least one sequel, if not two (the book series it's based on is a trilogy, after all). But will it happen? Well, director McG certainly hopes so, as his plans are all “perfectly laid out.”

Based on Scott Westerfeld's 2005 novel of the same name, “Uglies” is set in a dystopian future society where every single person at the age of 16 undergoes surgery to become the perfect version of themselves. That means enhanced looks, enhanced abilities, personalities, anything you can imagine. After the surgery, people are what are known as “pretties.”

The operation is presented as something that everyone receives to do, but Tally Youngblood (Joey King) eventually learns that it is not really a gift and certainly not optional.

After being forced by Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox) to infiltrate “The Smoke” – a group of “Uglies” led by a man named David (Keith Powers) who fled the city to live without technology and age normally – to find her friend Shay (Brianne Tju), Tally learns that the surgeries are actually causing brain lesions.

These injuries rob everyone of their personality and make them feel happy and perfect, but they are also under the complete control of the city.

Unfortunately, when Tally throws the tracking necklace that Cable gave her into the fire, the heat activates the transmitter and destroys it. This leads Cable and her henchmen straight to the Smoke. Shay arrests the runaways and brings them back to the city. She is the first to undergo surgery.

Tally and David don't arrive in time to save her, and since the new Shay insists she doesn't want to be cured, they don't force the reversal that David's mother brings about on her – especially since the cure hasn't been proven successful so far.

So Tally volunteers to be the first human test subject. She will undergo surgery and agree to be cured afterward. David quickly reminds Tally that she will no longer be herself and may not consent, but Tally assures him that she now knows who she is and will leave him a sign that she is still of sound mind.

“I'm Tally Youngblood,” she announces to the pretty girls who are chasing her. “Make me pretty.”

Fans of the books will surely recognize this line of dialogue, as it is the very last line of the first novel. According to McG, keeping this line was a key element of the film's ending.

“For me, it was everything,” he told TheWrap. “I mean, that’s the line that drives you into what we certainly [hoping] are the second and third films.”

In fact, it leads directly to the cliffhanger. Because while this line may be the last in the book, it is not the point where the film fades to black. There is another scene after that – one that deals with the sign that Tally promised David she would leave behind.

That mark is the scar on her hand, which she previously compared to her former best friend Peris (Chase Stokes). As she tells her virtual assistant that she is perfectly happy with her appearance, Tally glances at the intact scar, suggesting that she has indeed managed to maintain control of her mind.

Yet her face and body are completely different. As the camera pans out, we see that Tally is now a much more expressive version of herself, matching the blueprint we see at the beginning of the film. And yes, it's meant to be a little unsettling to watch.

“We worked really, really hard to get that right, starting with the hair and makeup and practical effects on the face, but also the visual effects on the face to enhance it,” McG explained. “And like I said, look at every Instagram, every Snapchat, every filter you can choose out there. This type of facial tuning is available, and people are using it and applying it with great regularity.”

“And we did a lot of that, too. We just took a lot of snapshots, studied our stars' faces, and did a lot of research and development to figure out how we would ultimately express that,” he continued. “We wanted it to feel ethereal and a little bit otherworldly. And, you know, the eyes are a little bit like in the anime and bigger than would realistically be possible, and all these little subtleties throughout, just to create that look, just like that.”

So will “Pretties” and “Specials” get sequels? McG says that's a question that “is up to the audience to weigh in,” pointing out that many films that seemed ripe for a sequel never made it because of how well they performed.

However, should Netflix decide to make one or more sequels, McG is still willing to direct.

“I think that's safe to say. I mean, we're not talking about a run-of-the-mill movie where you say, 'Hey, we had good numbers and people really liked it. Let's make up a sequel,'” he said. “Basically, we're talking about a book series with special features and extras.”

“And, you know, obviously 'Pretties' is the second film. So, yeah, we want to make sure we do everything we can to make sure the world hears and it's a simple, easy decision for Bela. [Bajaria, Chief content officer of Netflix]and Dan Lin [Film Chief at Netflix] and Ted Sarandos [CEO of Netflix] further down.”

McG added that he certainly hopes the sequels get the green light because, thanks to writer Scott Westerfeld, the plans for those films are “perfectly worked out.”

“Uglies” is now streaming on Netflix.