We Now Know Who Will Play the Male Leads in the Movie Adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing

Even two-and-a-half years after it first came out, the story of Where The Crawdads Sing (BUY IT: $11; Amazon.com) still stays with us. An intertwined saga of marshlands and murder, love and loss, the 2018 book by Delia Owens is a novel people will surely be reading for many years to come. With evocative scenery and a haunting plot you won't soon forget, it was certainly one of the most cinematic books we've read in recent memory.

And now—hallelujah!—we get to head to the intoxicating setting of North Carolina's marshlands and reencounter the unforgettable lead character of Kya Clark on the big screen. Last year, we announced that Reese Witherspoon's production company, Hello Sunshine, will be making the film adaptation, and that Daisy Edgar-Jones will star as Kya. (You may recognize Jones from the BBC/Hulu TV series of author Sally Rooney's Normal People.)

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Recently, thanks to a piece that drifted our way from the team at Wide Open Country, we've also learned that the male stars have been announced. First, Taylor John Smith will take on the role of Tate Walker, who becomes the outcast "Marsh Girl's" (spoiler alert) first love. John Smith was in the Sharp Objects adaptation on HBO, as well as the 2016 Cruel Intentions TV movie, and the 2017 Netflix thriller You Get Me, among several other shows and films. And the role of Chase Andrews—a popular local young man ultimately discovered dead in the swamp—will be played by Harris Dickson from 2019's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil action movie and the 2019 British film County Lines.

The IMDb page currently lists Where The Crawdads Sing as in pre-production. Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we're guessing it might be quite a while until the film makes it to theaters. We guess that means we've got some time to reread the spectacular tome.

And if you haven't read the book yet, you might want to bring it up with your book club as your next pick. Or heck, dive in ASAP on your own and see what all the buzz is about.