Elizabeth Debicki had originally been cast to play Christina Braithwhite in HBO‘s adaptation of “Lovecraft Country,” but we’ve learned today via Deadline that Debicki is out and Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) will be taking her place. Additionally, Daniel Sackheim has come aboard as exec producer and director, with Jamie Chung and Jordan Patrick Smith also starring.
The series comes from Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, Misha Green and Warner Bros Television.
Penned by Green based on the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, “Lovecraft Country” follows Atticus Black (Jonathan Majors) as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father. Thus begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.
In addition to Majors and Smollett-Bell, “Lovecraft Country” also stars Courtney B. Vance, Wunmi Mosaku, Aunjanue Ellis, and Jamie Harris.