Amazon MGM Studios has bought the feature package for Butcher And Blackbird, setting the bestselling dark romance for a worldwide release on Prime Video and putting Chris McKay in the director’s chair. Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty are attached to star.
The sale gives the adaptation a clear studio home at the moment readers are looking for the project, because the package now has a director, a script team and two lead actors in place. Laura Kosann wrote the script, with revisions by Ari Berkowitz and Ava Tramer.
For Laird, the casting follows a run that has kept her in view on the screen: she was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland for Best Actress for the series Mint. Doherty is currently starring in Hulu's Paradise, while McKay arrives with a track record that includes The Tomorrow War for Amazon, The Lego Batman Movie and Renfield.
That momentum matters because Butcher & Blackbird is not a one-off property. It is the first installment of Brynne Weaver's Ruinous Love trilogy, and the book published in October 2023 quickly became a New York Times, and Publisher's Weekly bestseller before going viral on BookTok. Weaver's books have since sold more than five million copies and been sold in over 25 countries.
Even with the package moving, one detail is still missing: there is no production start date and no release date. The project has crossed the important threshold from book-to-screen deal to fully assembled feature, but the calendar remains open, which means Amazon MGM Studios has signaled intent without yet locking in when Prime Video viewers will get it.
