Everyone knows that many good movies have been based on even better books. The adaptation process isn’t always done justice in Hollywood, but nevertheless, book lovers are always interested to see how their beloved fiction is translated onto the screen.
2023 has already seen plenty of books make it to movie and TV adaptations – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, The Witcher and Daisy Jones & The Six are just a few on the list – but there are many more on the way.
We thought we’d list a few of our most anticipated book-to-screen adaptations in case you want to catch up on the novels first.
Upcoming movie and TV show book adaptations to look out for
The Wheel of Time
Coming up very soon is the second season of Prime Video’s other fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. The TV show adapts Robert Jordan’s epic saga of novels, which are set in a fantasy land where women have the power to tap into a magical source known as the One Power.
The journey sees five young adults from a remote village taken to the White Tower to determine if one of them is the prophecised Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy the world.
Release date: Season 2 releases on September 1 on Prime Video. Season 1 is streaming now.
The Fall of the House of Usher
The next horror series from The Haunting of Hill House’s Mike Flanagan is an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story. The series is said to use the short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, as loose inspiration, but it will follow the CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company whose family members begin dying in brutal and mysterious ways.
Release date: October 12 on Netflix.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling book Lessons in Chemistry will be adapted into a TV series this year with Brie Larson in the lead.
The story follows a gifted chemist in the 1960s who is forced to resign due to her male superiors’ dated views on equality. So instead she starts a cooking show using a revolutionary scientific approach that grabs the attention of the nation.
Release date: October 13 on Apple TV+.
All The Light We Cannot See
Netflix will adapt Anthony Doerr’s award-winning novel, All The Light We Cannot See, into a four-part series starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Louis Hofmann and Aria Mia Loberti.
The story follows the lives of two teenagers during World War II; a french blind girl and a German boy forced to fight for the Nazi regime.
Release date: November 2 on Netflix
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Fans of The Hunger Games will eagerly be awaiting this one. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is Suzanne Collins’ prequel novel to the iconic trilogy, following a young Coriolanus Snow in the early days of the Hunger Games, many years before he becomes President of Panem.
The movie will star Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler and is directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed the latter three Hunger Games films.
Release date: In cinemas November 16
Leave the World Behind
A mysterious blackout forces two families to come together to survive the impending crisis. This is the premise of Leave the World Behind, a book by Rumaan Alam that will be adapted into a movie by Sam Esmail (Mr Robot) and star Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold.
Release date: December 8 on Netflix.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Fans of Rick Riordan’s YA Greek mythology books may have been a little disappointed when the first two movie adaptations of Percy Jackson failed to hit the mark. That’s all set to change now that the books are getting a second chance at adaptation and are being turned into a series on Disney+.
The story premise remains the same, with a 12-year-old boy named Percy Jackson learning he is the son of a Greek God and is accused of stealing Zeus’ thunderbolt.
Release date: December 20 on Disney+.
The Colour Purple
The Color Purple will adapt Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name as a musical about the life-long struggles of an African American woman living in the south of the U.S. in the 1900s. Halle Bailey is set to star, fresh off her role in The Little Mermaid, and Taraji P. Henson and Colman Domingo also feature.
Release date: January 25, 2024 in cinemas
3 Body Problem
The Game of Thrones creators will tackle another epic book series in Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem. The sci-fi story explores the first contact made between humans and alien life on another planet, and the conflict that brews over the years that follow.
Release date: January 2024 on Netflix.
Dune Part 2
The highly anticipated second part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel, is on the way (despite a few delays). The split between movies saw things wrap up in part one with Paul in alliance with the Fremen, ready to take back Arrakis from the Harkonnen. We’ll see if he’s successful when Dune Part Two eventually releases, or you could read the book.
Release date: March 14, 2024 in cinemas
As you can see there are plenty of books that are coming to the screen in the next 12 months. Which ones are you most excited for?
And, if you’re curious, check out our lists of other major movies and TV shows releasing in 2023.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.