'Where the Crawdads Sing' Has a Very Specific Setting — Here's Where It Was Filmed

The highly-anticipated book-to-film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing finally arrives in July 2022. The film follows a young woman named Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who lives in the marsh after being abandoned by her family at a young age. When a paramour of hers is found dead, Kya must defend herself against murder accusations from a town that never truly understood her.

Because the marshes of North Carolina are such a central element to the story, many fans are curious about Where the Crawdads Sing's filming locations. Where was the movie filmed? Were they able to capture the natural beauty of the marsh on camera? Here's what we know.

Per Country Living, filming for Where the Crawdads Sing began in April 2021 and was quickly finished by July. Although the book is set in the marshes of North Carolina, the filmmakers chose Houma, La., as the backdrop for the movie. It seems like this was the right decision, as many of the film's stars, including Daisy Edgar-Jones, have posted behind-the-scenes photos of the picturesque natural setting.

Local newspaper The Courier also discussed what it was like having Where the Crawdads Sing film in Houma. Much of the downtown area had to be transformed to fit the movie's 1960s setting. Local Tina Parfait says she was mesmerized seeing the vintage cars, clothing, and building facades alter Houma overnight.

"It's just pretty cool that they’re here in our little ... town of Houma doing this wonderful movie. And I didn’t read the book, but now it motivates me to want to read the book,” Parfait said. “I’m a big fan of Reese Witherspoon." Reese Witherspoon's production company, Hello Sunshine, is producing the film.

Filming also took place in New Orleans, La. As a New Orleans native, Reese Witherspoon explained to Vanity Fair, "The way that Delia Owens wrote this book with such authenticity, you could just tell she really grew up in this place. She really appreciated the nature around her. The book is a love letter to growing up in the South, which for me really resonated because I grew up in New Orleans and Nashville."

Where the Crawdads Sing is distributed by Sony Pictures, which has a deal with Netflix and Disney Plus for their theatrical releases from 2022–2026. The deal, as described by IndieWire, "gives Disney U.S. streaming and TV rights for Sony’s new theatrical releases and begins for each film following its Pay One TV window. [Then,] the studio’s theatrical films [will be] sent to Netflix during the Pay One window, which begins after movies leave theaters and have been released on DVD/VOD."

For those keeping up, this likely means Where the Crawdads Sing will go to On Demand first, then Netflix, then Disney Plus. If you want to catch all the drama firsthand, be sure to go to a theater on July 15, 2022.