‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ trailer takeaways: murder, romance and a Taylor Swift song

The singer provides an atmospheric Lana Del Rey-esque soundtrack to the film's preview

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya in 'Where the Crawdads Sing'. Photo: Sony Pictures

The trailer for the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing, the 2018 novel by Delia Owens, has been released.

Starring British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) as the marsh girl protagonist, Catherine Danielle Clark, known as Kya, the film has been directed by Olivia Newman and produced by Reese Witherspoon.

David Strathairn, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson and Ahna O’Reilly also star in the novel adaptation.

Here are five key takeaways from the Where the Crawdads Sing trailer:

1. Daisy Edgar-Jones nails the Southern accent

Edgar-Jones, 23, is from London, a fair distance from the marshes of North Carolina, where Where the Crawdads Sing is set. However, anyone who has watched Normal People will know that accents are a strength of the actress's, who mastered the Irish accent in the 2020 series.

"I found the accent weirdly easier than the more general American accent, because it's such a clear sound," she told Vanity Fair magazine of Kya's Southern drawl.

The film, like the book, tracks Kya's life from 1952 to 1969. Edgar-Jones said that evolving the accent was a "fun challenge", taking the character from a teenager to a woman in her forties.

"I wanted to find a change in her voice when she grows up … and her eye contact was a big thing for me. She's more fearful and suspicious of people [when she's younger]. It was a fun challenge."

2. Taylor Swift has produced 'haunting' new music for the film

With the trailer, new music from Taylor Swift was also teased.

We're yet to hear the full edit of Carolina, but the song provides the musical backdrop to the trailer. Swift describes the song as "haunting and ethereal", to match the film's "mesmerising story".

"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 @daisyedgarjones and produced by the brilliant @reesewitherspoon, I knew I wanted to be a part of it from the musical side," Swift wrote on Instagram.

"I wrote the song Carolina alone and asked my friend @aarondessner to produce it. I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerising story. You’ll hear it fully soon, but for now check out the @crawdadsmovie trailer for a clip!"

The atmospheric song has a distinctly 2012 Lana Del Rey feel.

3. The film, like the book, is an ode to the Carolina wetlands

The film is set in the fictional town of Barkley Cove, North Carolina.

Kya grows up remotely, but as a teenager she becomes a part of the town. However, it seems the film will be more of an ode to the marshes.

"Way out yonder, where the crawdads sing, the marsh knows one thing above all else," Kya says in the trailer. "Every creature does what it must to survive."

4. There is romance

The book's key love triangle will be shown in the film, with Kya the focus of attention from both Tate Walker (Smith) and Chase Andrews (Dickinson).

Tate becomes a confidant for a teenage Kya, who says in an intimate scene: "Sometimes I feel so invisible, I wonder if I’m here at all." To which he responds: "You are."

Then the drama kicks in.

Tate sees Kya and Chase kissing, after he tells her, "I think you're gorgeous. I want to get to know you better."

We also see the two male characters fight on a pier, presumably over Kya's affections.

5. There is mystery

For anyone who hasn't read the book, it's clear from the trailer that the film will centre around a death, which Kya is on trial for. However, in the two-minute preview it is never said who has died — we just see the body of a young man, but his face is obscured.

Kya is seen trying to evade authorities and is later seen in the back of a police car, with the voiceover: "Being isolated was one thing, being hunted, quite another."

When on trial, a female relative of the dead man says: "The marsh girl, she killed him."

Where the Crawdads Sing is due to be released in cinemas globally in July