There is good news for fans of Soman Chainani’s best-selling YA series, The School for Good and Evil, and fantasy buffs in general. The series is finally getting its film adaptation, and it has already been touted as one of the most anticipated films of 2022. Even though the books were more simplistic in their message and were targeted toward a much younger audience, the adaptation might take a different route.

Netflix took over from Universal Pictures to turn the series into live-action feature films a few years ago. Due to the pandemic and generally being stuck in developmental hell ever since the first book came out, the film's release got delayed. But the long wait is finally going to be over this year. Paul Feig, who created the comedy series Freaks and Geeks, and directed comedy hits like Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and Ghostbusters (2016), will be directing the film adaptation for Netflix. Chainani has not only worked on the script but has been onboarded as an executive producer.

First published in 2013, this series has a lot of similarities with the world of Once Upon A Time and Harry Potter. There are skeletal birds (like Thestrals), an eerie forest (like the Forbidden Forest), and people transfiguring into other creatures (like animagus or metamorphmagus witches and wizards in Potterverse). There is even a tournament called the Trial by Tale, very similar to the Triwizard tournament.

In The School for Good and Evil, best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides of an epic battle when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where aspiring heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance between Good and Evil. Will they make it, or will they break down along the way? The School for Good and Evil has the answer.

The gothic fantasy adventure film is bound to delight fans of the book it is based on and surely draw new fans into this amazingly rich world. It's time to recap the plot, cast, and everything we know about The School for Good and Evil movie so far.

Updated: September 2022 by Raquel Morales: If you are excited about The School for Good and Evil, you’ll be happy to read this updated article that provides the trailer, cast, plot, and everything else you need to know about the season.

The School for Good and Evil: The Plot

The first three books in The School for Good and Evil (known as The School Years) follow best friends Sophie and Agatha, who end up at the School for Good and Evil. Unlike Hogwarts, which divides students into different houses based on their personalities and ambitions, this School for Good and Evil is a tad more divisive.

In this enchanted institution, children are trained to become fairytale heroes or villains. As Sophie and Agatha face stereotypes of the “pure” and the “wicked” and embark on their adventures, they discover more about their true selves and motivations. They also challenge the notions of friendship and true love – silly and binary in nature – as set in their world according to fairytale standards.

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However, Chainani had suggested a while back that the story in the adaptations of his books would be treated differently, saying:

That said, the film will be a very different animal than the book. Part of the privilege of getting to write it is that I’ll enable fans to experience the world in a brand-new way. No one wants a pure translation of the book, scene for scene. Besides its impracticality, readers’ imaginations already have done that much better than we ever could.”

And indeed, Netflix gives a different touch to the adventures of Sophie and Agatha, one in which love, secrets, mystery, and the past will play a determining role. The official synopsis of the film reads:

In the village of Gavaldon, two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a golden-haired seamstress, dreams of escaping her dreary life to become a princess, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and offbeat mother, has the makings of a real witch. One night under a blood red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil — where the true stories behind every great fairy tale begin. Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamourous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington). As if navigating classes with the offspring of the Wicked Witch (Freya Parks), Captain Hook (Earl Cave), and King Arthur (Jamie Flatters) wasn’t hard enough, according to the Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne), only true love’s kiss can change the rules and send the girls to their rightful schools and destiny. But when a dark and dangerous figure (Kit Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the world beyond entirely — the only way to a happy ending is to survive their real life fairytale first.

Judging from the synopsis and the trailer, The School for Good and Evil will focus on Sophie and Agatha's friendship as the show individually develops the characters, showing us their first times and the long-buried secrets of their past. So fans will see the most important points of the book reflected while exploring new nuances of the story.

The School for Good and Evil: The Cast

The School for Good and Evil Cast
Netflix

Sofia Wylie (from Andi Mack and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) has been cast to play Agatha. Sophia Anne Caruso, who has primarily acted in theatre before (including portraying the iconic Lydia Deetz in the Broadway musical Beetlejuice), will be playing Sophie.

But that’s not all. A stellar cast will be upping the ‘good vs. evil’ game. Some of the enchanted school’s quirkiest professors, deans, and headmasters will be played by Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, and Laurence Fishburne.

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Theron will put on her evil hat again after Snow White and the Huntsman and play the School for Evil’s Lady Lesso. Yeoh and Washington are set to play the School for Good Professors Anemone and Dovey, respectively. Rachel Bloom (of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) -- who talked about the movie with Deadline recently --, Peter Serafinowicz (of South Park, Shaun of the Dead), and Mark Heap (Spaced, Lark Rise to Candleford) will also star in the film in addition to the Patti LuPone. Even Ben Kingsley is supposed to make an appearance.

The School for Good and Evil also features Rob Delaney, Earl Cave, Holly Sturton, Emma Lau Rosie Graham, Joelle, Chinenye Ezeudu, Oliver Watson, Ali Khan, Myles Kamwendo, and Misia Butler. The movie is directed by Paul Feig.

Actors like Kit Young, Jamie Flatters, Freya Theodora Parks, Demi Isaac Oviawe, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi, and Briony Scarlett will play the school's students. Fiona Weir is the casting director for the film. Her previous credits include working with David Yates for Harry Potter, Love Actually, The Golden Compass, and the successful but criticized Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Release Date

The School for Good and Evil
Netflix

The School for Good and Evil is primarily being shot in Northern Ireland and is reported to generate investment for the province of around £30 million. Even though the film was initially slated for release on Christmas 2017, the movie's premiere, to the fans' disappointment, was delayed until this year.

On a positive note, The School for Good and Evil will release on Netflix on October 19, 2022. The date is perfect because it is very close to Halloween, and a gothic fantasy movie like this could not be released on a better date. Will it be able to fill the huge Potterverse-shaped hole in our hearts? Only time will tell.