‘The Water Man’ Netflix: July 2021 Release Date Set & What We Know So Far

Tigran Asatryan
June 27th, 2021 - 1:07 pm ET

The Water Man – Picture: Netflix

In February 2021, Netflix and RLJE films have picked up the worldwide rights to The Water Man, Selma star David Oyelowo’s directorial debut. The fantasy film was shown in September 2020 at the TIFF 2020 festival and is ready for release in July 2021.

David Oyelowo shared his comments on partnering up with Netflix on his directorial debut:

“To be able to share my directorial debut, The Water Man, with the world through the hands of RLJE Films and Netflix is a dream come true for me.”

David Oyelowo Directing The Water Man

The script for The Water Man was penned by Emma Needell, whose credits include short films Tick Tock and Desert Noir. The Water Man is produced by Oyelowo, Carla Gardini, Shivani Rawat, and Monica Levinson and is executive produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, Darren M. Demetre, Connor Flanagan, and Needell.

Is there a trailer for The Water Man?

The trailer for Netflix’s The Water Man was released on June 11, 2021.

What’s the release date for The Water Man?

Netflix has confirmed that The Water Man will be released on the streamer on July 9, 2021, excluding US and Canada.

David Oyelowo makes his feature directorial debut with THE WATER MAN, a family adventure about a young boy (Lonnie Chavis) on a quest to save his ill mother (Rosario Dawson) by finding a mythical figure who can cheat death.

On Netflix everywhere outside the US and Canada July 9. pic.twitter.com/iafQUeRp8z

— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) June 11, 2021

What’s the Netflix availability for The Water Man?

In North America, the film was released in theaters and on premium video-on-demand on May 7, 2021, but for the rest of the world, it will be available on July 9. It is still possible that the film will be added to Netflix US and Canada later this year.

What’s the plot of The Water Man?

The Water Man portrays a sensitive young boy who tries to save his mother from terminal cancer. He does so by going in search of the town’s bogeyman, The Water Man, who is fabled to have conquered death.

David Oyelowo told in an interview with Variety how the film came together and revealed that it was based on screenwriter Emma Needell’s childhood:

Emma Needell had written “The Water Man” based on her childhood, and I had talked about my desire to find this kind of project to either produce or create. It was my agents at CAA who brought me to the script.

Emma had several offers at the time to make the film, but I think we connected over the fact that I grew up loving this kind of film and didn’t see people who look like me reflected in those kinds of films. I wanted to play the father in this film, which would instantaneously make this a family of color. Even though that’s not how it was written, she loved that idea, and that was what bonded us.

Who is cast in The Water Man?

Netflix’s The Water Man stars David Oyelowo (Selma), Rosario Dawson (The Mandalorian), Lonnie Chavis (This is Us), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Amiah Miller (War for the Planet of the Apes) and Maria Bello (NCIS). Here they are in-character as seen in production stills:

: THE WATER MAN (L-R) Lonnie Chavis as Gunner Boone, David Oyelowo as Amos Boone, and Rosario Dawson as Mary Boone in THE WATER MAN. Photo credit: Karen Ballard/NETFLIX © 2021

: THE WATER MAN (L-R) Lonnie Chavis as Gunner Boone and Amiah Miller as Jo Riley in the adventure/drama film, THE WATER MAN. Photo Credit: Karen Ballard/Netflix © 2021

: THE WATER MAN (L-R) Lonnie Chavis as Gunner Boone and David Oyelowo as Amos Boone in the adventure/drama film, THE WATER MAN. Photo Credit: Karen Ballard/ Netflix © 2021