Awkwafina continues her amazing summer with the news that she is getting her own franchise. We learned at Comic-Con that she will co-star in Marvel’s Shang-Chi, and now she will star in her own potential franchise vehicle, The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, based on the book by A. Lee Martinez (it’s been sitting on my shelf for a while, now I have a reason to move it up the To Read list). The concept is great: Constance Verity has been saving the world her whole life, but she’s sick of it and just wants a normal life. Instead of a regular schlub longing for adventure, it’s an adventuress longing to be a regular schlub—so the Chosen One trope in reverse. Awkwafina will play Constance Verity, in what could become a trilogy.
Everything is coming up Awkwafina this year. Besides booking back-to-back franchise gigs, The Farewell continues to excel at the specialty box office. It’s been a rough summer for everyone that isn’t Disney, and the indie box office has been particularly brutal (Kayleigh Donaldson and I talked about this week on our podcast). But The Farewell is one of the bright spots, which could supply a nice narrative for a potential award season run. (Also, had Booksmart followed The Farewell’s platform/limited release plan, it would be a huge hit and not a disappointment. It’s all about context.) If A24 intends to push The Farewell for awards, the fact that Awkwafina is one of the hottest stars of the summer isn’t going to hurt. The Academy loves ingenues. Awkwafina is this summer’s ingenue. The ingenue playbook has worked for Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Brie Larson. It would be the perfect capstone to Awkwafina’s year to see it run for her.
