40 Great Books Coming to a Screen Near You

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Status: In development
In 2014 Warner Bros. picked up Tartt’s wildly popular The Goldfinch, about a 13-year-old boy who steals Carel Fabricius’s famous painting after he loses his mother in a museum bombing, and tapped Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) to adapt the book shortly thereafter.
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Status: Scheduled for release on March 30, 2018
Steven Spielberg is directing this pop-culture saturated near-future virtual reality story, which author John Scalzi once described as a “nerdgasm.” Tye Sheridan (Mud) and Olivia Cooke (Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl) are set to star.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
Status: Scheduled for release on September 30
Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson, and Asa Butterfield will star in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Riggs’ strange and thrilling novel, about a 16-year-old boy who stumbles upon the abandoned ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
Status: In development
Jennifer Lawrence is set to star in a remake of Steinbeck’s classic retelling of the story of Cain and Abel, which may be stretched over two films. The project is being developed at Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, with Gary Ross (The Hunger Games) on board to adapt.

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
Status: In development
The movie version of Erin Morgenstern’s romantic, magical tale set in a circus that only opens at night (which famously began as a NaNoWriMo project) has been in the murky waters of Hollywood development for several years—the last major update on it was in 2012, when Moira Buffini was hired to write the script. Morgenstern herself says that all she knows is it has been optioned and people are working on it.
The Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
Status: In development
Universal optioned Aveyard’s popular YA fantasy-dystopia about a 17-year-old thief who suddenly finds herself masquerading as royalty in 2013, and hired Gennifer Hutchinson to adapt shortly thereafter. The last news on the picture was that Elizabeth Banks was in talks to direct.

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
Status: In development
Fans have been eager to see a big-screen adaptation of Rowell’s enchanting, poignant story about first love in the 1980s since its release, but news has been tough to find. The latest word is that Rowell is working on a second draft of a screenplay for DreamWorks, so everybody keep your fingers crossed.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple
Status: In development
Richard Linklater will direct the Hollywood version of Semple’s delightful tale, about a brilliant, agoraphobic woman who vanishes after she cracks under the pressure of her perfect Seattle lifestyle, and the daughter who puts the pieces of her life and disappearance together. As of November, Cate Blanchett was in talks to star.

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Status: In development
Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo are set to star in the movie adaptation of Americanah, Adichie’s beautiful story of two lovers reunited 15 years after they left Nigeria for different countries. The film is being developed at Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B.
The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
Status: Scheduled for release on October 7
Hawkins’ novel about a woman on a train who witnesses something disturbing debuted to enormous praise and immediate comparisons to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. DreamWorks started production on the movie adaptation, which stars Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson, near the end of last year, and it’s set to open this October.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Status: In development
Here’s another that has been stuck in development for a while: Taylor’s widely praised YA novel about a mysterious art student whose past is strange and whose future is about to get even stranger was optioned by Universal in 2011, got a producer the next year, and a writer the year after that. In 2014 Taylor said she’d just finished a draft for the film, but news since then has been scarce.
Let it Snow, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
Status: Scheduled for release on December 9
Universal Pictures’ Let it Snow is based on a short story collection featuring three interconnected holiday romances from three of today’s biggest YA authors. Adapted by Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect), the film will drop just a week before Star Wars: Rogue One, making December a very big month for Nerdfighters.

Grasshopper Jungle, by Andrew Smith
Status: In development
The delightful Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) is set to direct the adaptation of Smith’s YA novel, about a boy and his friends who accidentally unleash an apocalyptic virus that turns people into giant mantises (seriously, can you imagine a YA book better suited to Wright’s unique skill set?).
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
Status: In development
Pierce Brown’s hugely successful YA novel about a dystopian society on Mars was optioned by Universal in a seven-figure deal, and is now on its third screenplay draft.

An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
Status: In development
One of last year’s top young adult novels, An Ember in the Ashes follows two teenagers struggling under the brutal, restrictive rule of the Martial Empire. Paramount optioned the book before it was even published (in another seven-figure deal), and it’s currently in development with producers Mark Johnson and Haroon Saleem (the author’s brother).
The November Criminals, by Sam Munson
Status: Post-production
Sacha Gervasi’s adaptation of Munson’s darkly humorous story, about a teenager who grows increasingly obsessed with the murder of a classmate, completed filming last year, and stars Chloë Grace Moretz and Ansel Elgort. Although a release date has yet to be set, the movie will probably come out this year.

The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster, by Tim Crothers
Status: Post-production
Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo star in this adaptation of Crother’s book, the nonfiction account of  Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan chess prodigy from the slums of Kampala. Produced by Disney and ESPN (the book was expanded from an article Crothers wrote for ESPN Magazine), filming has completed and the first image has been released.
The Dark Tower, by Stephen King
Status: Scheduled for release on January 13, 2017
It’s been a long time coming, but production on the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s beloved western/sci-fi/fantasy series The Dark Tower is finally starting. The film will star Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, and is slated for release early next year.

The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey
Status: In post-production
Carey’s unsettling, heartfelt novel about a very special 10-year-old named Melanie who lives in a mysterious locked-down facility, released to widespread acclaim in 2014 (Joss Whedon numbers among its fans), was adapted so quickly the movie is expected to release sometime this year.
Nerve, by Jeanne Ryan
Status: Scheduled for release September 16
Emma Roberts and Dave Franco star in this adaptation of Ryan’s thrilling YA novel, about a girl who is picked to join an online reality game that consists of riskier and riskier dares. Nerve will be released this fall.

The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman 
Status: In development
Seeing as it has been stranded in development since the late 1990s, fans had pretty much given up hope of ever seeing a film adaptation of Gaiman’s beloved comics series. So when Joseph Gorden-Levitt and David Goyer came on board in 2013, it seemed like things might finally be going well…until last week, that is, when JGL announced he was leaving the project due to “creative differences.” Hopefully a clearer picture of what’s happening will emerge in the next few weeks.
Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes
Status: Scheduled for release June 3
Fans don’t have to wait much longer to see the Hollywood version of Moyes’ bestselling novel, a poignant and romantic tale about a 26-year-old woman whose life revolves around her tiny village, and a wheelchair-bound tycoon plunged into depression. Starring Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, and Jenna Coleman, the film comes to theaters at the beginning of June.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by J.K. Rowling
Status: Scheduled for release November 18
Probably not much more needs to be said on this one, because if you haven’t heard there’s a new movie in the Potterverse coming out in November, you should probably get someone to move the rock you’ve been living under.
The BFG, by Roald Dahl
Status: Scheduled for release July 1
Another offering from Steven Spielberg, The BFG is a live-action adaptation of one of Dahl’s most beloved books (although you can pry Matilda out of my cold dead hands), about an orphan named Sophie who befriends a 24-foot giant responsible for the distribution of good dreams to children. Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill star.

The Circle, by Dave Eggers
Status: Post-production
Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and Karen Gillan (nice to see the Doctor’s recent companions getting a lot of work) star in James Ponsoldt’s adaptation of Eggers’ funny and suspenseful story about a young woman climbing the ladder at a massive and mysterious tech company. The film will likely be released this year.
The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman
Status: Scheduled for release on September 2
Stedman’s massively popular novel, about a man who returns to Australia after four years spent on the Western Front and takes a job as a lighthouse keeper has been adapted for the big screen by Derek Cianfrance and stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd
Status: Scheduled for release on October 14
Focus Features bought the rights to Ness’s tale, about a boy who meets a monster while his mother is dying of cancer, for twenty million dollars in 2014, and hurried the movie into production. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Lewis McDougall, and Liam Neeson, the film is set for release this October.
American Pastoral, by Philip Roth
Status: Post-production
Ewan McGregor is making his directorial debut with Roth’s classic, powerful novel about a man whose American dream is shattered when his daughter commits an act of political terrorism (and a lot of other things).  Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Connelly star alongside McGregor, and the film should be released sometime this year.
The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin
Status: In development
Fox’s adaptation of Martin’s gripping story, about a man and woman stranded on a mountain after a plane crash, has hit some stumbling blocks during its development. Charlie Hunnam and Rosamund Pike were attached to star, but both actors dropped out. Now the studio is eyeing Idris Elba for the male lead, with the female lead still undecided.
Television

American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
Status: Greenlit
It’s a good time to be a Neil Gaiman fan: after several years trying to find the right fit for the adaptation, American Gods is going forward at Starz with showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green. Ricky Whittle, aka Lincoln from The 100, has been cast as Shadow, and Ian McShane will play Mr. Wednesday. The show will hopefully air sometime late this year.
3001: The Final Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
Status: In development
Syfy first announced it would adapt 3001, the final book in Clarke’s Space Odyssey series, into a miniseries sometime in 2014, and it remains in development there. At the time of the announcement, Scott Free’s Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker were set to executive produce, and Stuart Beattie was on board to write.

The Neapolitan series, by Elena Ferrante
Status: In development
Ferrante’s novels, centering on two women’s intense and long-lasting friendship, have been taking the literary world by storm, and I have the impression only some of her fans are delighted by the recent news that they will soon be transformed into a television series. Italy’s Wildside production company will adapt the books into four eight-episode seasons, one for each novel in the series.
The Midnight, Texas series, by Charlaine Harris
Status: In development
Fans of True Blood, rejoice! Charlene Harris’s latest series, about a small town in Texas where the supernaturally weird congregate, is being developed over at NBC.

The Wicked + The Divine, by Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillan and Matt Wilson
Status: In development
One of my favorite comics from last year, The Wicked + The Divine centers around a pantheon of twelve gods who incarnate as humans every 90 years, live like rockstars, and die within two years. It’s a great property to adapt to television, so let’s hope Universal, which optioned it last year, will push it through the pipeline quickly.
The Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov
Status: In development
HBO announced they would be bringing Asimov’s classic science fiction series to the small screen in late 2014, with Jonathan Nolan both writing and producing. There hasn’t been much news since then, except that Nolan confirmed last year he is still involved in the project.

The Old Man’s War series, by John Scalzi
Status: In development
One of the most popular science fiction series of the last decade, Scalzi’s military drama was optioned by SyFy in 2014 and is still in development. The last update, from Scalzi himself in August of last year, was that there was a script that needed tweaks, and some new writers had been brought in to look at it.
Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson
Status: Greenlit, straight to series
Spike TV is getting back into scripted television with a bang, ordering an adaptation of Robinson’s sci-fi classic about colonists terraforming Mars straight to series. J. Michael Straczynski is onboard as writer and showrunner, and the show is set to air in January 2017.

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman
Status: Greenlit
Now here’s some really exciting news: it turns out the film version of The Golden Compass was not the last shot fans had of seeing an adaptation of Pullman’s famous series. Late last year the BBC announced it would be bringing His Dark Materials to life in an eight-part series from New Line Cinema and the production company Bad Wolf, which was formed by two of the executives responsible for bringing Doctor Who back on the air.
Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart
Status: In development
Ben Stiller is developing Shteyngart’s satiric tale of romance in a near-future America consumed with image at Showtime, where he’ll executive produce along with Shteyngart and writer Karl Gajdusek.

The MaddAddam Trilogy, by Margaret Atwood
Status: In development
Atwood’s compelling story of people struggling in a postapocalyptic world devastated by a pandemic is being adapted by Darren Aronofsky over at Showtime. We first heard the announcement in 2014, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of news since, so fingers crossed it’s still going forward.