‘The School For Good And Evil’ Enrolls Charlize Theron And Kerry Washington In Key Roles
The School for Good and Evilwill soon be in session at Netflix. The streaming service is turning the young adult fantasy novel series bySoman Chainaniinto a Netflix movie (presumably a franchise if all goes well), and directorPaul Feighas found two big name actresses to take key educational roles.Charlize TheronandKerry Washingtonhave joinedThe School for Good and Evilcast, each playing “two looming figures at the mysterious house of education.” Find out more about their characters below.
Here’s Paul Feig announcing the casting of Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington inThe School for Good and Evil:
I know what school I’m applying to! So thrilled to welcome Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington to the School for Good and Evil! Everyone, prepare to get schooled!@CharlizeAfrica@kerrywashington@netflix@NetflixFilmpic.twitter.com/IgmoDABkp0
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig)June 13, 2025
If you’re not familiar withThe School for Good and Evilbook series, which is being adapted byDavid Magee(Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns, Finding Neverland)andLaura Solon(Office Christmas Party, Let It Snow), here’s the official synopsis:
Best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where fairytale legacies go to school: the School for Good and Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. With her princess ambitions, Sophie knows she’ll be picked for the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and wicked cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. Yet soon the girls find their fortunes reversed: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, Agatha into the School for Good. But what if the mistake is the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are? Their friendship will be put to the test in this thrilling and comedic story where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.
Last year,Sophia Anne Carusowas hired to playSophie while actressSofia Wyliewill be playing Agatha (yes, their real names make this extremely confusing). As for the roles Washington and Theron will be playing, they’re important ones as the deans of the two titular halves of the school in question. Kerry Washington is playing Professor Dovey, the dean of The School of Good. She also happens to be Agatha’s fairy godmother. Meanwhile, Charlize Theron is playing Lady Lesso, the dean of The School of Evil and one of Dovey’s best friends.
This has all the makings of a potentialHarry Potter-style franchise, but with female characters being much more prominent. This seems like an interesting change of pace for Feig, who is best known for studio comedies likeBridesmaidsandSpy. Though Feig recently dabbled in something much different withA Simple Favor, shifting over to a big fantasy franchise is an entirely new arena for him, especially since this seems designed to be a full fledged franchise with six total books in the series.
The School for Good and Evilis slated to premiere on Netflix sometime in2022.
