Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira are set to star in ‘UNpregnant’.
The ‘Five Feet Apart’ star and the ‘Euphoria’ actress will join forces for the debut project from film producer Greg Berlanti’s deal with HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service.
‘UNpregnant’ is an adaptation from the book of the same name, written by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan, which tells the story of a teenager from Missouri who hits the road with her friend to obtain a legal abortion.
Rachel Lee Goldenberg will direct the movie, which will shoot in New Mexico.
Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max, said in a statement: "When the opportunity to produce a film based on UNpregnant arose in partnership with the incomparable Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Erik Feig, I knew HBO Max was the right place for this story. We want to create authentic, relevant films that are told with grace and humor to serve our young adult audience, and this is exactly that."
Meanwhile, Haley recently revealed that she initially turned down ‘Five Feet Apart’, which tells the story of two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis – the genetic condition resulting in mainly respiratory and gastrointestinal problems – because her character’s controlling nature made it difficult for her to connect at first.
She said: "Fun fact: I actually passed on this movie. I wasn’t super into this script the first time I read it, to be honest. Not because of what these characters go through, but because there were things about Stella that were hard for me to connect to. And I think that aspect of being so in need of control, that was scary for me because you can’t fake that innate need or pressure or whatever it is to have these control issues. Her whole life is built around that. The majority of it is because of her situation and her CF, so honestly it was hard. It was hard to picture that happening in this big, magical teen romance world and it was scary to imagine doing justice to that and making that grounded and real in this big genre teen movie.
"Honestly, I think it scared me at first because I didn’t know if it was possible, but then it’s also a challenge and exciting being as grounded and real of a character and having conversations and saying words that a teenager can actually relate to with this magical, high-stakes situation happening around them."