Where is Where the Crawdads Sing being released?

These days, a best-selling book is pretty much guaranteed to nose dive into Hollywood territory. The number of films and television series that have a book (and an extremely talented author) to thank for its success is seemingly inexhaustible.

The latest to hit the big screen is Delia Owen's Where The Crawdads Sing, a book that quite literally changed lives with its gripping, emotional 1960s narrative centred on an abandoned girl named Kya. It's no wonder that Reese Witherspoon named it as one of Reese's Book Club picks, ultimately sealing its fate as a screen masterpiece. 

As we near the film's release release date, anticipation and hype for Crawdads is at an all time high. Whether you're a long time fan or merely curious about what all the fuss is about, it's certain to be quite the ride—and everyone best be on it. 

Below, everything you need to know about the film, and when and where you can watch it in Australia. 

Instagram @CrawdadsMovie

What is Where The Crawdads Sing about? 

The coming of age story follows a young girl named Kya who was abandoned as a child and left to grow up alone on the Carolina Coast in a town called Barkley Cove. Often referred to as "Marsh Girl", Kya's special relationship with her mostly outdoor surroundings allowed her to grow up to be a talented naturalist, though people in the local town are suspicious and scared of the outcast girl.

Then, tragedy strikes the community when a local man, Chase, is found dead. Kya quickly becomes a suspect, and she's thrown into a world crueller than she's never experienced. But what comes out of it, and her ultimate fate, is something she, nor anyone else could have anticipated. 

The role of Kya went to 24-year-old Daisy Edgar-Jones, who shot to fame following the 2020 television series, Normal People, also based on a best-selling book by Sally Rooney. 

Taylor John Smith plays Kya's love interest Tate Walker. The 27-year-old has starred in romantic thriller You Get Me, as well as Liam Neeson's Blacklight. 

Harris Dickinson plays Chase Andrews, the boy whose death is pinned on Kya. Dickinson, 26, has a slew of films and TV shows to his name including Beach Rats, The Kings Man and Trust. 

Rounding out the cast is David Strathairn as Tom Milton (Nightmare Alley, Nomadland) Ahna O'Reilly as Ma (The Help), Garret Dillahunt as Pa (Raising Hope, Ambulance) and Michael Hyatt as Mabel (Snowfall, Acts Of Worship)

When will it be released?

Where The Crawdads Sing will be released on July 21—and the cast and crew have already kicked off the press tour. 

On July 12, Reese Witherspoon (who served as a producer on the series) and Edgar-Jones led the star-studded pack at the New York City premiere. Witherspoon wore an eye-catching bright pink dress by Kiwi-born designer, Emilia Wickstead, while Edgar-Jones opted for a cascading floral dress from Gucci’s Resort 2023 collection. 

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Where can you watch it in Australia? 

Where The Crawdads Sing will first drop in cinemas across Australia on July 21. You can book your tickets at your local cinema online.

Jess Pullar

Jess Pullar is the Culture Editor (digital) of marie claire and ELLE. When she's not gazing at sunsets, she enjoys tucking into a green tea and re-watching 'Sex And The City'.

As has typically always been the case, there are a great number of book-to-movie adaptations coming out in 2022, but few have the buzz surrounding them quite like that of Where the Crawdads Sing. The film adaptation of Delia Owens’ debut novel about a young girl who largely spent her life isolated from society and finds herself in a heap of trouble is one that people were talking about before the project was officially announced shortly after the beloved book’s 2018 release. And now, we’re just months away from seeing one of the most anticipated 2022 movies.

If you want to know when you’ll be able to see the Where the Crawdads Sing movie, who’s in it, and other things you can expect to see play out when it opens in theaters this summer, stick around because we have you more than covered.

Where The Crawdads Sing Will Be Released Theatrically On July 15, 2022

Those who have been anxiously awaiting the Where the Crawdads Sing movie the past few years will be glad to hear that the book adaptation is set to be released theatrically on July 15, 2022, per The Hollywood Reporter. The movie was initially set to debut a few weeks earlier on June 24, 2022, according to Deadline, but the release was moved around a couple of times before setting on the mid-July opening.

Daisy Edgar-Jones Leads The Where The Crawdads Sing Cast

At the center of the Where the Crawdads Sing movie is Daisy Edgar-Jones, who will surely be making an addition to her impressive list of credits with her portrayal of Kya Clark, aka “Marsh Girl.” Joining Edgar Jones on the cast is Taylor John Smith (Sharp Objects) as Tate Walker, Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man) as Chase Andrews, Michael Hyatt (Snowfall) as Mabel, Sterling Macer Jr. (Double Down) as Jumpin, and David Strathairn (Nomadland) as Tom Milton.

Where The Crawdad’s Sing Follows A Young Woman Accused Of Murdering A Former Boyfriend

If the Where the Crawdads Sing movie stays true to the original source material, it will tell the story of Kya Clark, a young girl who was abandoned by her parents and forced to raise herself in the seclusion of North Carolina’s marshes into adulthood. And though she temporarily re-enters society in a nearby community, Kya once again finds herself on the run when a former boyfriend attacks her and later ends up dead, with the “Marsh Girl” as the prime suspect in the heated murder case.

And while it looks like the odds are stacked against her, secrets and revelations from Kya’s past are brought to the surface, making her future even more uncertain in this sprawling murder mystery set in the marshy swamps.

Reese Witherspoon, who has been producing various film projects since Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde in 2003, has been at the forefront of bringing Where the Crawdads Sing to the big screen since she first read the book of the same name upon its release. When it was first announced that the adaptation was in the works in December 2018 with Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine slated to produce the feature, the Academy Award winner released the following statement (via Variety):

With a jaw-dropping mystery, stunning Southern setting, and endlessly fascinating female heroine at its center, I loved this book the moment I read it and am so excited to join forces with Elizabeth [Gabler] and her team to bring Delia [Owens’] truly moving page-turner to the screen.

Where the Crawdads Sing is just the latest in a long line of projects produced by Hello Sunshine (previously known as Pacific Standard), which also worked on movies like Wild and Gone Girl, as well as shows like The Morning Show and Big Little Lies over the course of the past decade. Expect even more to come from the incredibly busy Witherspoon and her various ventures.

Olivia Newman Directed Where The Crawdads Sing

Sitting behind the camera and helming Where the Crawdads Sing was Olivia Newman, as reported by Deadline in July 2020. Newman made here feature length directorial debut with the 2018 Netflix drama First Match, which was based on a short film she released nearly a decade earlier. Since then, she has directed several episodes of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and FBI.

The Where the Crawdads Sing script was adapted by Lucy Alibar, who has some experience writing movies about young women braving the elements in movies like Troop Zero (in which she also acted) and the eerily beautiful Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Where The Crawdads Sing Will Feature A Brand New Taylor Swift Song

If the hype surrounding the release of Where the Crawdads Sing wasn’t enough, the upcoming coming-of-age drama will also feature a brand new Taylor Swift song called “Carolina.” The multi-time Grammy winner, who is currently re-recording all of her older albums, made the announcement in a March 2022 Instagram post (her first of the year) that featured a snippet of the song and a nice little caption about her love of the original novel:

Where the Crawdads Sing is a book I got absolutely lost in when I read it years ago. As soon as I heard there was a film in the works starring the incredible [Daisy Edgar-Jones] and produced by the brilliant [Reese Witherspoon], I knew I wanted to be a part of it from the musical side. I wrote the song ‘Carolina’ alone and asked my friend [Aaron Dessner] to produce it. I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story.

And despite multiple YouTube claiming otherwise, it looks like we’ll have to wait, possibly until July, to hear the full version of this “haunting” track.

The Where The Crawdads Sing Trailer Is Full Of Romance, Murder, And Beautiful Imagery

In addition to giving us our first (brief) listen of the new Taylor Swift track, the Where the Crawdads Sing trailer also offers a quick look at the romance, murder, and beautiful imagery that is to be featured in the upcoming movie. Take a look and see:

As you can see in the footage above, the trailers offers up a lot of scenes and what could be pivotal moments while also not answering too many questions and ruining the mystique surrounding the upcoming drama.

Expect to hear more about Where the Crawdads Sing as we get closer to its July 15, 2022 theatrical release date.

Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop yelling at the mailman, or yelling about professional wrestling to his wife. If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.