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14 New & Upcoming Book-to-Screen Adaptations
If it seems like a lot of your favorite books are turning into movies and TV series lately, you’re right. Extremely right. In fact, it’s been a banner year for Hollywood book adaptations. Depending on how you do the math, more than 75 books—both fiction and nonfiction—will have made their way to TV and/or cinemas by the end of 2023.
On the big screen, we’ve seen blockbuster films like Oppenheimer, based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus, along with lots of smaller genre specimens like the horror pic Knock at the Cabin, based on Paul Tremblay’s 2018 novel. On TV and streaming services, it’s been a seemingly endless procession of books turned into full series, limited series, and one-off feature films. Think Daisy Jones and the Six, The Wheel of Time, or American Born Chinese.
The really crazy part? We’re just now getting into the busy season. We’ve gathered below 14 of the most high-profile adaptations premiering in the fall prestige season. We’ve included the relevant drop dates and links wherever possible, but keep in mind that the Hollywood strikes are playing havoc with the calendar. Check your current listings!
On the big screen, we’ve seen blockbuster films like Oppenheimer, based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus, along with lots of smaller genre specimens like the horror pic Knock at the Cabin, based on Paul Tremblay’s 2018 novel. On TV and streaming services, it’s been a seemingly endless procession of books turned into full series, limited series, and one-off feature films. Think Daisy Jones and the Six, The Wheel of Time, or American Born Chinese.
The really crazy part? We’re just now getting into the busy season. We’ve gathered below 14 of the most high-profile adaptations premiering in the fall prestige season. We’ve included the relevant drop dates and links wherever possible, but keep in mind that the Hollywood strikes are playing havoc with the calendar. Check your current listings!
Zakiya Dalila Harris’ 2021 mystery-thriller follows twentysomething publishing assistant Nella Rogers, who is tired of being the only Black employee in the office. So she’s delighted when Harlem native Hazel joins the team as another woman of color. But things get quickly and severely weird when a series of unsettling events turns Nella’s world upside down. The new Hulu series adaptation premiered in September, and the creative team cites some varied inspirations, from Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing to Jordan Peele’s instant-classic 2017 horror film Get Out.
Victor LaValle is one of the most innovative writers working in speculative fiction these days. (For immediate proof, check out his 2016 quick-read novella The Ballad of Black Tom.) LaValle’s 2017 novel The Changeling follows an antiquarian book dealer who travels through eldritch realms to save his family. LaValle’s book is a slow-motion collision of dark fantasy, gritty realism, and parental anxiety. The Apple TV+ adaptation, starring LaKeith Stanfield, premiered its first three episodes on September 8, with eight total planned for release through the fall season.
Check the reader reviews and you’ll find that people have a deep and genuine affection for this 2021 coming-of-age YA novel. The story introduces two Mexican American teens living in 1980s Texas and explores themes of family, queerness, and ethnic identity. The big-screen adaptation, in theaters now, features up-and-coming actors Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as Aristotle and Dante, respectively. Also on board: Eva Langoria, as Dante’s artistic mom, and Lin-Manuel Miranda behind the scenes as producer.
This one is a lot of fun: In theaters September 15, the new supernatural thriller A Haunting in Venice is the third installment in actor-director Kenneth Branagh’s film franchise featuring natty Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The previous films, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, were adapted from the respective Agatha Christie novels. But the new one is a mashup blending elements from several Christie stories, including the 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party and the 1926 short story The Last Séance.
A Goodreads Choice Award nominee for both Best Historical Fiction and Best Debut, author Charmaine Wilkerson’s 2022 novel concerns two siblings, a strange bequeathment, and a famous Caribbean recipe with a loooooong history. Black Cake shuttles back and forth in time, as the siblings learn about their family’s astonishing past and how stories are passed down through generations. (Sometimes via cake recipe!) The TV series adaptation, from Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, is set to debut on Hulu November 1.
Investigative journalist David Grann made all the best-of lists in 2017 with this book about a terrible and largely forgotten chapter in American history. In the 1920s, dozens and perhaps hundreds of Osage Native Americans were murdered in a vicious dispute over oil rights in Oklahoma. Probably the most high-profile adaptation of the year, director Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited film will debut in U.S. theaters on October 20, with an Apple TV+ release later in the year. The cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Blackfeet Nation actress Lily Gladstone.
Another incoming AppleTV+ adaptation—premiering October 13—Lessons in Chemistry is based on author Bonnie Garmus’ warmly received debut novel from last year. The setup: Brilliant chemist Elizabeth Zott finds herself hosting America’s most popular cooking show, where she challenges 1960s notions of what a woman can do in her professional life. A genuine hit with both readers and critics, the book earned the attention of Hollywood A-lister Brie Larson (Captain Marvel!), who is fittingly both lead performer and executive producer. You really can have it all!
Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Anthony Doerr’s World War II novel follows the parallel stories of a blind French girl and a reluctant German soldier whose lives come together in occupied France circa 1940. Netflix’s four-part limited series is set to drop on November 2, with all episodes available upon debut. This is prestige-picture territory for Netflix, and the production has attracted some top-shelf talent including Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, a legally blind actress who won the role after a global casting process.
Both spin-off and prequel, this 2020 dystopian sci-fi novel from Suzanne Collins marks her return to the colossal pop culture phenomenon that is the Hunger Games series. Set 64 years before the events of the first book, the novel provides an origin story for ultimate boss villain Coriolanus Snow. Is he the good guy in the new book? Is he the bad guy? The answer is yes. The movie adaptation, starring Tom Blyth as young man Snow, hits theaters November 17. Rachel Zegler plays Snow’s protégée, Lucy Gray Baird.
Author Rumaan Alam’s popular 2020 novel fits squarely with a long and noble tradition in the psychological thriller genre: the Vacation Gone Wrong. Two families end up at the same luxurious Long Island rental property when word comes that a mysterious blackout has struck New York City. Then things get really weird. The star-studded film adaptation—featuring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la Herrold, and Kevin Bacon—is slated to premiere December 8 on Netflix, with a limited theatrical release likely as well.
The first full novel from author Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen was a surprise sensation in 2015, winning the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for debut fiction. Genre designations are terminally blurred with this one, and that’s part of the book’s strange, dark appeal. The story—one fateful week in the life of two women in 1960s Boston—is a kind of literary thriller, inspired by Shirley Jackson, Vladimir Nabokov, and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Anne Hathaway and New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie headline the movie adaptation, coming to theaters December 1.
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning 1982 novel is considered one of the great works of American fiction. Set in rural Georgia in the early 1900s, the book follows a group of African American women over the course of several decades. Director Steven Spielberg famously adapted the novel in 1985, but this is a story that will be retold as long as we have storytellers. The new musical adaptation, based on the Broadway version of the book, hits theaters on December 25. Among the ensemble cast: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Louis Gossett Jr., Ciara, and H.E.R.
Canadian author Iain Reid specializes in the shadowy areas between cerebral horror, haunting sci-fi, and psychological thriller. In his sophomore novel, Foe, a near-future marriage is tested when the husband is replaced by his biomechanical double. While technically science fiction, the story is much more interested in the people involved than in the technology. The film adaptation, starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, will debut in theaters on October 6, with a later streaming debut on Amazon Prime.
On a significantly lighter note, this Regency-era historical romance from author Julia Quinn tells the effervescent love story of two characters with impeccable romance novel names: Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. Just as the book is part of Quinn’s popular Bridgertons series, the adaptation of Romancing is part of Netflix’s ongoing Bridgertons streaming series. In fact, the book will inform the entirety of Season 3, which is supposedly coming this year but has no set release date yet.
Which new adaptations are you looking forward to? Let's talk in the comments!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 82 (82 new)
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dany
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Oct 17, 2023 04:51AM
Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary.
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Looking forward to see the tv adaption of Leave the World Behind...that was a really good book. Can't wait !
Would absolutely love to see the Wilder Widows by Katherine Hastings! These books are the best BFF books I’ve ever read!
LOVED the book Lessons in Chemistry! We have watched the first two episodes of the tv adaptation on Apple TV+ and so far we both agree it's really great. Looking forward to watching the mini series in its entirety. Brie Larson WOW!
dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."Yep, I think the cover is a really terrible fit for the book.
I would love to see The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo made in a movie. That would be great! The book was great from beginning to end.
dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."
Never judge a book by its cover!
Can’t wait for ‘All the lights you can not see”
I am hopeful that the adaptation of the Maisie Dobbs series of books by Jacqueline Winspear become a series soon. I've read that Hilary and Chelsea Clinton optioned the series for their production company. I am also very hopeful the Richard Osman series (Thursday Murder Club), which I understand Speilberg has the rights to, is made before I am too ancient to enjoy. Also anxious for more of the C.B. Strike series. While I love reading, I also enjoy the movies!
I totally agree about the cover, which signaled to me: boring, contemporary, chick-lit. I would have skipped it but for my book group selecting it one month.
All star cast for Killers of the Flower Moon; excellent historical novel, I have high hopes for the movie.
One I would love to see adapted for TV is Kate Atkinson's Shrines of Gaiety. I've already cast it with Tom Ellis as the elder son.
ALI wrote: "I would love to see The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo made in a movie. That would be great! The book was great from beginning to end."I agree! I just finished the book and can already see the film in my mind!
All the Light We Cannot See is one of the best books ever. Can't wait to see the series on Netflix.
The Marsh King’s Daughter, based on a book by Karen Dionne, should be on this list.
Marsh King’s Daughter is another novel made into a movie. It will be coming out the first week of November.
Looking forward to Foe, starring two of my favourite actors, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal.
Sherri wrote: "Looking forward to see the tv adaption of Leave the World Behind...that was a really good book. Can't wait !"Me too! I loved that book. So well-written.
I’m surprised that The Three Body Problem isn’t included on this list. I think it will be released on Netflix in a few weeks.
I got a sneak preview of All the Lights and saw the first episode. It was really great. Can’t wait for the other 3 episodes.
Hello,Can I add "Uncle Silas" and "The Bucaneers."
Also "Small Things Like These" and "The Guinness Girls."
dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."The author tried to veto the cover but the publishers insisted because they wanted it to appeal to a certain market (chic lit) which it definitely isn’t.
Boys in the Boat written by Daniel James Brown, comes out December 25th! Directed by George Clooney and starring Callum Turner!
Sherri wrote: "Looking forward to see the tv adaption of Leave the World Behind...that was a really good book. Can't wait !"Me, too! Loved the book!
I'm excited for black cake! I feel like all the light we can not see has been in the works for years! excited to see how that one turns out
I'm happy I got to add more books to my tbr list! Excited about a few of theses.
ALI wrote: "I would love to see The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo made in a movie. That would be great! The book was great from beginning to end."Ali ... I thought 7 Husbands was geat too. Cleared up a lot of ideas of women who marry so many times.
Valerie wrote: "The author tried to veto the cover but the publishers insisted because they wanted it to appeal to a certain market (chic lit) which it definitely isn’t."That's good to know. While you really can't judge a book by its cover, certain covers grab my attention so that I will read the synopsis, while certain covers will turn me off. Such as this one. It definitely looks like chick lit.
dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."Omg yessssss i feel you, i really thought it must be some cotemp but after watching the trailer i neeed to read this,
Megan wrote: "dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contempora..."Netflix bought the rights I believe so hopefully it will come one day!
I personally am highly looking forward to the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" series adaptation!!!
The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes looks sooooooo good!!! That movie is seriously going to be legendary!
Aristotle and Dante actually came out in 2012, not 2021. It's an amazing pick - looking forward to watching.
I do not recognize these books, I read Medical fiction and non fiction.
I've read TBOSAS and can't wait for the movie! The adaptation for Lessons in Chemistry looks interesting.
Don't forget Erasure by Percival Everett, coming to the silver screen as American Fiction! I haven't read it yet but I read I Am Not Sidney Poitier this year, and if it's anything like that, it's sure to be one of the best flicks of the year
They also just released the cast list for A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson.
Also the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley is going to be the film Priscilla!
I’m thinking Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine would also make an awesome movie/limited series. Just reading it, I could “see” everything that was happening. Looking forward to Black Cake.
I didn't realize an Eileen adaptation was in the works! It'll be interesting to see how they spin that because the book was unhinged.
dany wrote: "Wow, I thought the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry looked great, and seeing this now made me realized I skipped over the book many times. The cover makes it look boring and contemporary."Agreed! I will probably read it now
I saw the trailers for EILEEN and FOE - they both looked incredible, can't wait for them!
ALI wrote: "I would love to see The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo made in a movie. That would be great! The book was great from beginning to end."Netflix is working on a movie adaptation...
I saw the trailer for All The Light You Cannot See and can’t wait to watch it but now I’ve added it to my reading list!
Beyond excited for the release EILEEN 🤩 Moshfegh’s book is incredible.
Eva wrote: "Dont forget Percy Jackson!"OMG, I LOVE PERCY JACKSON!
