'Beasts of Prey' writer Ayana Grey spoke EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife about 'Beasts of Destroy,' the Netflix film within the works, who she's envisioned as Koffi and Ekon, and extra.
At 29 years outdated, Ayana Grey has already made a reputation for herself within the younger grownup world. Her debut novel, Beasts of Prey, turned a New York Instances bestseller and is at the moment being tailored by Netflix. Her highly-anticipated follow-up, Beasts of Destroy, is out now, and she or he’s already laborious at work on a 3rd ebook within the Beast of Prey sequence.
HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Ayana and requested whether or not or not she’s had her Beasts of Prey books mapped out from the start. “I knew a good bit. I are inclined to plot my tales out in a variety of element, however I all the time go away a bit little bit of thriller for myself,” she admitted. “Typically that adjustments the story a bit bit, and typically it adjustments it loads as I write. On this circumstance, as soon as I began writing and got here up with higher approaches, it precipitated me to should do a variety of rewriting. So I sort of knew the place I used to be going, however I stunned myself.”
The writer famous that a “sequence of issues” impressed the Beasts of Prey story. “I took a course whereas I used to be a college scholar known as political violence the place we grappled loads with concepts of excellent and evil and that basically struck me,” Ayana mentioned. “I studied overseas in Ghana and bought the possibility to essentially see Blackness in a brand new lens and that had an amazing influence on me. There’s a really well-known story about two man-eating lions in East Africa known as Tsavo Man-Eaters that I all the time thought was a extremely chilling however very fascinating story. All of these issues kind of got here collectively in a extremely distinctive method. I began to consider the world of Beasts of Prey. That’s all the time the place I begin, with the world. After which I take into consideration what tales might not likely match into that world. After which I take into consideration what characters might match into that story. In order that’s all of it sort of got here collectively in items.”
Ayana’s first novel, Beasts of Prey, is being developed as a function movie by Netflix. The 29-year-old has been blown away by the ebook’s response from followers and the streaming service.
“It’s actually past my wildest goals as an writer,” Ayana instructed HollywoodLife. “You’re simply sort of hoping that a single one in every of your books will make it into the world, not to mention three, after which a film deal is simply unthinkable actually. After which that occurs and it’s really surreal. I’ve gotten to have a look at the screenplay for Beasts of Prey, and it’s simply laborious to seek out phrases to explain how that feels to see your phrases transformed into a brand new format. It’s so cinematic and wealthy. It’s superb.”
With regards to how hands-on she’s going to be with the movie, Ayana mentioned she’s “within the center. I'm an writer first. Books are my past love, and that’s all the time the place I’m going to really feel most snug. I do have a variety of belief in Clubhouse Footage and Melody Cooper, who’s written this stunning screenplay. Plenty of instances I’m joyful to defer to individuals after they’re working of their space of experience. After all, I wish to have an lively position, they usually’ve been actually pretty about consulting even within the early phases. So I’m sort of within the center. I’m positively not a management freak.”
Now that the movie is within the works, followers have began to carry up actors they’d prefer to see within the roles of Koffi and Ekon. However what about Ayana?
“I’m an enormous fan of Letitia Wright. I believe she’s in all probability quite busy for the time being,” Ayana revealed. “He’s not essentially an actor to my information, however after I first noticed Giveon, who's an R&B musician, I believed, ‘He seems a lot like how I pictured Ekon in my head.’ It was actually hanging. If he ever wished to have a foray into performing, we'd like to snag him.”
Nevertheless, Ayana identified that “so many individuals have given me a shot as a beforehand unheard of latest identify in publishing, and it might be actually cool to have the ability to do the identical factor on the performing facet and herald new, undiscovered Black expertise for Beasts of Prey. As a result of at one level, the 2 individuals I simply named — Giveon and Letitia — had been additionally new up-and-coming abilities, and somebody gave them a shot. I've footage in my head of it’d be actually cool to have this individual in some way, however it’s additionally simply as thrilling to consider possibly there’s the right Koffi and Ekon on the market. I simply haven’t discovered them.”
Ayana additionally weighed in on the state of various storytelling within the publishing trade. Whereas there have been breakthroughs, Ayana needs to maintain pushing ahead with much more various authors and tales.
“I’m very pleased with the progress. I imply, even in my lifetime, I’m turning 30 subsequent yr, and I’m proud to have seen a lot progress in such a brief period of time,” Ayana instructed HollywoodLife. “However, after all, I wish to see extra. I wish to be sure that variety isn’t handled as a development, as one thing to leap on after which do for a short while, after which transfer on to the following thrilling trendy factor. I need it to be sustained. I need it to be inclusive. I need it to be ever-expanding. So I’m proud of what we have now, however I need extra.”
As for the third Beasts of Prey ebook, Ayana revealed that the novel is due across the finish of 2022 or early 2023. “I did truly submit an overview to my editor earlier this yr earlier than Beasts of Destroy was even revealed,” Ayana mentioned. “I labored on it a bit bit, however what I’m persevering with to study my artistic course of is you do should let concepts breathe. Hearken to your head and take heed to your physique, so I’m Beasts of Prey 3 but in addition taking time and writing for the enjoyable too, not simply with the expectation of publishing but in addition simply letting myself be artistic.”