Is Reese Witherspoon's planned adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing still happening? Where The Crawdads Sing is the debut novel of writer, zoologist and memoirist Delia Owens and was published in mid-2018. Set in the marshlands of North Carolina, it tells the tale of Kya Clark who lives in a rundown shack on the outskirts of a small town and was left to raise herself after being abandoned by her family. Part coming-of-age story and part murder-mystery, the story is split into two parts with the first chronicling Kya’s early years as she learns to survive on her own with the second half following adult Kya as she’s accused of murdering a former boyfriend.
Since its publication Where The Crawdads Sing has sold over ten million copies worldwide and spent a record-breaking number of weeks topping the New York Times Best Seller List for Hardcover Fiction. It caught the eye of Reese Witherspoon too, who selected Where The Crawdads Sing the September 2018 pick for her book club.
Just a few months after Where The Crawdads Sing was published, Fox 2000 secured the rights to make Delia Owens’ debut novel into a film and joined forces with Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine to bring it to the big screen. With the project officially greenlit, here’s everything we know about the planned Where The Crawdads Sing movie adaptation so far.
Where The Crawdads Sing Has Assembled Its Cast & Crew
Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones will top the cast of the Where The Crawdads Sing as main character Kya Clark. She’s joined by Taylor John Smith (Sharp Objects) and Harris Dickinson (Trust) who will play Kya’s love interests, Tate Walker and Chase Andrews. Other actors confirmed include Fear The Walking Dead’s Garret Dillahunt, Snowfall star Michael Hyatt and David Strathairn (The Expanse).
Reese Witherspoon will produce Where The Crawdads Sing alongside her Hello Sunshine partner Lauren Levy Neustadter, while Olivia Newman (First Match) will direct the movie from a script penned by playwright and Beasts Of The Southern Wild co-writer Lucy Alibar.
Where The Crawdads Sing Is Currently Filming
The cast and crew of the Where The Crawdads Sing movie recently started filming in and around New Orleans and Houma in Louisiana. Principal photography is expected to conclude in late June 2021. Sony Pictures will release the book-to-movie adaptation theatrically and via Netflix as part of its recently inked deal with the streaming service. Exactly when Where The Crawdads Sing will be released is currently unknown, but a 2022 release date is likely.