Hold onto your hats: the first full-length trailer for Delia Owen’s hit book Where the Crawdads Sing is now out and it looks intense.
Taking us back to 1950s Carolina, the film (and book it was based on) tells the story of Kya, the “Marsh Girl” who grows up by herself after being abandoned by her family. As a social recluse, Kya keeps to herself – but when one of the boys she was involved with is found dead, she suddenly finds herself at the centre of a murder trial.
Owen’s book was an instant hit when it was released in 2020 – in fact, it was one of the Duchess of Cornwall’s book club picks – so it was no surprise when Reese Witherspoon picked up the rights to film it through her production company Hello Sunshine. Not bad for a debut novel.
Witherspoon has form in this area: alongside leading this project, she has previously adapted Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere.
This adaption also stars Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays Kya.
Speaking to the Duchess of Cornwall’s book club previously, Edgar-Jones explained that audiences would be able to relate to Kya’s isolation because of the loneliness brought about by the pandemic and multiple lockdowns.
“Being able to escape into Kya’s world and see how she finds comfort and solace and love through the connections she makes with the beautiful natural world that’s around her, I just found incredibly comforting and moving,” she said.
“I just feel so privileged and excited to be able to be playing her. I think she’s such a special character and such a special person and I think this book will stay with me forever.”
The trailer itself introduces Kya via voiceover.
“In town, they tell the story of the Marsh Girl,” she says. “The one who grew up alone in the wild. But they never really knew me. Like most stories, the facts don’t weigh into it.”
We also see glimpses of Kya’s love interests, Chase Andrews (played by English actor Harris Dickinson, who also turns up dead at the start of the novel) and Tate Walker (played by newcomer Taylor John Smith) - and the ensuing legal trial that unfolds.
Where the Crawdads Sing will be in cinemas from July 22.
