Butcher & Blackbird Cast: Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty
What was announced
Deadline broke the story on 22 October: Lyrical Media and Embrace have sold the feature to Amazon MGM Studios, for a worldwide release on Prime Video. ComingSoon reports that Amazon MGM Studios then posted the casting on its official X account.
Here is the team named so far:
- Director: Chris McKay, whose credits include The Tomorrow War, The Lego Batman Movie and Renfield
- Script: Laura Kosann, with revisions by Ari Berkowitz and Ava Tramer
- Producers: Alexander Black of Lyrical Media, and Embrace
- Executive producers: Brynne Weaver and Chris McKay, alongside Lyrical Media’s Arlen Konopaki, Jon Rosenberg and Jonathan Faust
Deadline adds that Kosann is also adapting Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End for Netflix.
Who are Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty?
Emma Laird plays Sloane. She is an English actress from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, according to Yahoo. You may know her as Jimmima in 28 Years Later and its sequel The Bone Temple, or as Shannon in the BBC series Mint, which earned her a BAFTA Scotland nomination for Best Actress (Deadline). Her credits also include Mayor of Kingstown, A Haunting in Venice and The Brutalist.
Thomas Doherty plays Rowan. He is a Scottish actor who stars in Hulu’s Paradise. Readers may know him from Tell Me Lies, Gossip Girl and the vampire film The Invitation.
Who Sloane and Rowan are in the book
No spoilers here. In Weaver’s novel, Sloane Sutherland and Rowan Kane are both serial killers, and both hunt other serial killers. ComingSoon gives their screen names as Sloane Blackbird Sutherland, also known as the Blackbird or the Orb Weaver, and Rowan “The Boston Butcher” Kane.
Rolling Stone describes their flirtatious relationship as starting with an annual murder competition against fellow killers. As the game goes on, the two have to reckon with how their relationship is changing. Rolling Stone calls the series a comedic romance, and Yahoo calls it a dark rom-com, so the humour is part of the appeal.
Butcher & Blackbird is book one of the Ruinous Love trilogy, published in October 2023. On our scales it is Spice 4 and Dark 4, and its full content notes are on its warnings page.
What we know and what we do not
Release date. None has been announced. ComingSoon describes the film as being in pre-production. Lyrical Media’s project page lists 2027, and Yahoo expects late 2027 at the earliest. Neither is an official date from Amazon, so treat both as guesses.
Rating and explicit content. No rating has been announced, and I have not seen an official statement on how explicit the film will be. Rolling Stone says the choice of Prime Video “feels linked to” the difficulty of staying true to the book’s explicit sexual material and its descriptions of murder, torture, gore and cannibalism. That is Rolling Stone’s reading, not a confirmation from Amazon, so please do not assume the film will match the book.
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Still unannounced. None of the coverage I read gives a start date for filming, a supporting cast or a trailer. I will keep the Butcher & Blackbird movie news page up to date as that changes.
What dark romance readers should do now
- Read the book first. Butcher & Blackbird has our spice and darkness scores, and its content warnings come before the plot.
- Know what the scores mean. Our pages on Spice 4 (explicit) and Darkness 4 (pitch) explain the top end of both scales, and the trigger warnings A to Z cover themes like gore and murder.
- Want more of the same? Books like Butcher & Blackbird has ten dark romance picks.
- Carry on with the series. The Ruinous Love reading order and the series page show where to go after book one.
FAQ
Who is cast in the Butcher & Blackbird movie?
Emma Laird plays Sloane and Thomas Doherty plays Rowan, according to Deadline and to Amazon MGM Studios’ announcement as reported by ComingSoon.
Who is directing and writing the film?
Chris McKay is directing. The script is by Laura Kosann, with revisions by Ari Berkowitz and Ava Tramer. Brynne Weaver and McKay are executive producers.
When does the Butcher & Blackbird movie come out?
No release date has been announced. It is set for a worldwide release on Prime Video, and ComingSoon describes it as being in pre-production.
Will the film be as explicit as the book?
Nobody has said yet. No rating has been announced. Rolling Stone suggests the Prime Video deal may be linked to the book’s explicit content, but that is its opinion, not an official statement.
Do I need to read the book before the film?
No, but the film is based on the book, which is book one of the Ruinous Love trilogy. Read the content warnings first, because the book is explicit and very dark.
Sources
- Deadline, 22 October 2026: Amazon MGM Studios picks up Butcher & Blackbird, Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty to star
- Rolling Stone, 22 October 2026: Amazon’s serial killer romance finds its lead lovers
- ComingSoon, 22 October 2026: 28 Years Later and Gossip Girl stars join Prime Video movie
- Yahoo Entertainment, 22 October 2026: Meet your Sloane and Rowan
- Yahoo Entertainment, 23 October 2026: Meet Emma Laird, the actress playing Sloane
- Lyrical Media project page: Butcher & Blackbird
Zade Masked
I write the serial and I keep this shelf. These essays are mine, in the first person. The chat elsewhere on the site is an AI wearing a voice. This page is not. If I am answering a video, the card at the top names it.
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On the shelf
The books this essay is standing next to. Notes on those pages are original. The warnings are there before the plot.
News posts only report what the sources say, and name them. Opinion is marked as opinion. Patreon · Ko-fi · Library
Originally published at https://zademasked.com on October 24, 2026.
