Hot off her acclaimed turn inThe Farewell, rising starAwkwafinahas signed on to play the title role in Legendary Pictures' fantasy filmThe Last Adventure of Constance Verity, based on the book of the same name byA. Lee Martinez.
Jon Shestack(Ghosts of Girlfriends Past) is producing, and he has tappedJohn Raffo(The Relic) to write the script. Legendary’sJon SilkandJay Ashenfelterwill oversee the project for the company.
Martinez’s novel follows Constance Verity, who for mysterious reasons, was thrust into a battle with the supernatural from the moment she was born, and has been saving the world from disaster ever since. She’s exhausted and wants to sample what she has missed out on – a boyfriend, a normal job, best friends. But it’s not easy to walk away from a life of adventure when you’re the chosen one.
It sounds like early days for this project, but I’m curious who Legendary and Shestack anoint “the chosen one” as far as a director is concerned. It’d be great to see Awkwafina re-team with herFarewelldirectorLulu Wang, though I’m welcome another female filmmaker as well, since they’re often overlooked for big-budget fantasy films.
Awkwafina has been on a roll since her breakout turns inCrazy Rich AsiansandOcean’s Eight, lining up roles in Marvel’sShang-Chi, Disney’s live-action remake ofThe Little Mermaid(she’ll voice Scuttle the seagull), Sony’sJumanjisequel andRyan Murphy’s Netflix musicalThe Prom, which will see her co-star alongside Oscar winnersMeryl StreepandNicole Kidman. By then, Awkwafina could be an Oscar winner herself, based on the rapturous response toThe Farewell, which is expected to receive a major awards push from A24. She’s represented by UTA and Artists First.
Saga Press publishedThe Last Adventure of Constance Verityin 2016, as well as a sequel in 2018. Martinez is currently writing the third book in the series. He’s repped by Gersh and CookeMcDermid Literary Management, while Raffo is repped by APA.
