In 2018, Delia Owen’s first fiction novel Where The Crawdads Sing was released, and within a year it was on the New York Times Bestseller list. It became the book that everyone was talking about, and when I finally got around to reading it last summer, I completely understood the hype.
It tells the story of a girl named Kya growing up in the rural marshland of North Carolina after being abandoned by her family. She faces condemnation from the town and struggles with isolation, but she finds comfort in the nature surrounding her. Because she is an outcast, she connects with very few people, as the whole town calls her “the marsh girl” and tells wildly false stories about her. Her relationship with nature guides her through a story of romance, mystery and murder. This riveting story is on its way to the big screen, and here is everything we know about the film so far.
It is set to be released in July of 2022! In December 2018, Deadline reported that Fox 2000 will be adapting the novel into a movie and that Reese Witherspoon and her production company, Hello Sunshine, will be producing the movie.
Author Delia Owens and Producer Reese Witherspoon met in 2019 to discuss their plans for the film. Soon after their meeting, Elizabeth Gabler (who is known for working on The Devil Wears Prada, Life of Pi and Hidden Figures) joined the project as an executive producer. Olivia Newman (an up-and-coming director most well-known for directing Chicago Fire) secured her role as director of the film in July of 2020.
The cast features Irish actress Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, American actor Taylor John Smith as Tate and English actor Harris Dickinson as Chase. Daisy Edgar-Jones is notable for her role as Marianne in Hulu’s series Normal People. In this series, she does an excellent job at portraying the emotion and turmoil Marianne faces in her relationships, but I think Where The Crawdads Sing will show how multi-faceted she is as an actress, having to play a wild marsh girl.
The trailer was released on March 22, 2022 and gained international attention from “Swifties” as it featured an unreleased Taylor Swift song titled “Carolina.” Swift reported on her Instagram that she read the book years ago and instantly knew she wanted to be a part of the project. She wrote the song for the film and said she wanted to “create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story.” She said the whole song will be released soon, and we’re assuming it will be sometime before the film’s release.
This enthralling tale about the “marsh girl’s” journey through her life is highly anticipated in its new film format. It features an excellent cast, with some fresh faces and an excellent production team, suggesting that this will be an outstanding movie. And with the attention of “swifties,” it is sure to receive a largely-attended opening weekend. Be sure to check out this new movie in July, as it seems very promising!
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