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17 Eagerly Anticipated Book-to-Movie Adaptations
Book or movie? You'll be asking that question a lot over the next few months as Hollywood again turns to one of its favorite muses—books—for more film adaptations. From Martin Scorsese's passion project based on a Shusaku Endoby book, to the Oscar-buzz worthy adaption of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Fences, to a film version of the beloved book Wonder, the next few months feature plenty of fodder for book worms who love popcorn. Check out our list below and tell us which movies you're excited—or perhaps dreading—this season.
HOLIDAY RELEASES
December 23
Based on Shusaku Endoby's 1966 novel, this Martin Scorsese film tells the story of two Christian missionaries who travel to Japan in search of their lost mentor. It stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson.
December 23
A monster movie that's actually about grief, this film based on the book by Patrick Ness focuses on a 12-year-old boy dealing with his mother's illness. It stars newcomer Conor O'Malley, as well as Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, and Liam Neeson.
December 25
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-Winning play by August Wilson, this film is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for its two leads. It's the story of a former baseball player who struggles to provide for his family and come to terms with his life. It stars Denzel Washington (who also directs) and Viola Davis.
December 25
Based on the sprawling crime novel by Dennis Lehane, this film centers on the son of a prominent police chief and his fall into a life of crime. It stars Ben Affleck (who also wrote and produced the movie), Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Cooper.
JANUARY RELEASES
January 6
Based on the true story chronicled in Margot Lee Shetterly's
book of the same name, this movie looks at the amazing contributions of African-American women working at NASA during the Space Race. It stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, and Kevin Costner.
January 27
Based on the book by W. Bruce Cameron, this movie follows a dog through several lives as he searches for his purpose. It stars Bradley Cooper, Britt Robertson, and Dennis Quaid.
FEBRUARY RELEASES
February 3
Based on James Baldwin's unfinished final manuscript, this documentary by Raoul Peck delves into the legacy of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers and examines question of what it means to be black in America. It's narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
February 10
Based on the bestselling sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James returns to Anastasia and Christian. The movie stars Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Tyler Hoechlin, and Kim Basinger.
February 24
Set in 17th century Amsterdam, this romance features lovers who gamble on the booming (or blooming) tulip market. Based on the book by Deborah Moggach, it stars Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Dane DeHaan, and Cara Delevingne.
MARCH RELEASES
March 3
Based on popular YA author Lauren Oliver's debut, this story relives the last day of a young woman's life as she works to figure out the mystery of her death. It stars Zooey Deutch, Halston Sage, and Jennifer Beals.
March 3
Twenty years after the first Trainspotting, this movie, based on the book Porno by Irvine Welsh, follows Trainspotting's original characters. It stars Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, and Johnny Lee Miller
March 24
Based on the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes (who also brought us Ghost World), Wilson is about an opinionated middled-aged loner and his quest for human connection. It stars Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, and Laura Dern.
March 17
It's a tale as old as time. Or, it's Disney's live-action re-telling of the animated classic originally based on the story from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. It stars Emma Watson and Dan Stevens
March 31
This movie is based on the internally acclaimed popular manga and anime franchise by Masamune Shirow. In this futuristic tale, a cyborg policewoman works to track down an infamous hacker. It stars Scarlett Johansson and Michael Pitt.
March 31
Based on the bestseller by Diane Ackerman, the film tells the true story of Polish zookeepers who helped save hundreds of people during the Nazi invasion. It stars Jessica Chastain and Daniel Bruhl.
APRIL RELEASES
April 7
Based on beloved book by R.J. Palacio, Wonder is a heartwarming story of a young boy with a facial deformity who works to convince his new classmates he's one of them. It stars Room's Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts
April 28
Based on the book by Dave Eggers, this thriller follows a young woman who goes to work at the world's most powerful internet company. It stars Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega.
Which films are you looking forward to? Discover more at our Books to Film page.
Comments Showing 1-50 of 67 (67 new)
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Roberta
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Dec 15, 2016 04:20AM
This would be a good time to get the Prozac refilled.
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Roberta wrote: "This would be a good time to get the Prozac refilled."And not to watch any of those movies until the books are read. :)
Yes! More books to read and more movies to watch!
Ev wrote: "Roberta wrote: "This would be a good time to get the Prozac refilled."And not to watch any of those movies until the books are read. :)"
Precisely!!!
The movie is never adequate enough to take the place of the book. The written word is more powerful, in my opinion.
Wow, I didn't even know they were making a movie from Before I Fall!! I need to watch that,
Also premiering in February is HBO's "limited dramatic series" of Big Little Lies. It's based on the book by Liane Moriarty.
I cried so hard watching A Monster Calls, really good movie (the book's still better though).I really look forward to Wonder and A Dog's Purpose. And also Netflix's adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Not listed, but incredibly excited for Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale too!!
American Gods and The Kingkiller Chronicle are coming out too, the former as a tv show.
Also The Dark Tower, but I expect it to be really bad. sadly
Karen wrote: "Not listed, but incredibly excited for Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale too!!"Oh, I may have to get Hulu just to watch this!
Just read the Blake Crouch's Dark Matter is being made into a movie also. AWESOME book. Nothing in it that can't be translated to film...
There's at least 5 movies on the list that I can't wait to see! I'll have to read the books too!
I believe the only book to movie that I thought was even/better was The Shawshank Redemption....otherwise...
I'm looking forward to The Beauty and The Beast! I might add a couple of these to my TR list. I like reading the book before watching the movie... Even though it usually ruins the movie for me.....
I heard that Ready Player One by Ernest Cline might be made into a movie. Does anyone know if that's true? I might be mistaken.
Aiyana wrote: "I'm looking forward to The Beauty and The Beast! I might add a couple of these to my TR list. I like reading the book before watching the movie... Even though it usually ruins the movie for me......."
I've heard rumors about that too, but I don't think anything's confirmed yet. If it ever is confirmed though, I would love to see that movie as well. The book was great.
And what about American Pastoral or The Glass Castle? :)
Karen wrote: "Not listed, but incredibly excited for Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale too!!"I loved that book, found it very hard to put down! Wasn't it made into a movie before?
Anne wrote: "Karen wrote: "Not listed, but incredibly excited for Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale too!!"I loved that book, found it very hard to put down! Wasn't it made into a movie before?"
There's a 1990 movie - I really liked it, haven't read the book yet but I have it and I'll have to read before I see the remake.
Dave wrote: "I believe the only book to movie that I thought was even/better was The Shawshank Redemption....otherwise..."So agree with you Dave
The first movie of 50 shades was done so well - NOT. I am not looking forward to the next movie.
I can't wait for the cosmere books to come out as movies: apparently they're planning to make the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive books sometime.That'll certainly be a while, though.
This is an awesome list!!!! The question "Book or Movie?" In the blog opening, did make me laugh though, lol. The book first, always, but books and movies are two of my favorite things :) and now I've added 6 more books to my forever long wishlist. Ironically, I 'just' learned to play "Beauty and the Beast" on the piano two days ago! Silly comment, but cool to have seen the description with the first words of the song and picturing which notes on the piano are played for them. Anyway, lol, I just added....
Beauty and the Beast
have this book, but haven't read it yet.The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story
And....
Wonder
Karen wrote: "Not listed, but incredibly excited for Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale too!!"OMG I did not know about this so thanks for getting me hype :)
Darius wrote: "American Gods and The Kingkiller Chronicle are coming out too, the former as a tv show."
I'm excited about the American Gods series even though I haven't read the book yet - it's a brilliant premise with great actors and I trust Gaiman.
Andrew wrote: "Just read the Blake Crouch's Dark Matter is being made into a movie also. AWESOME book. Nothing in it that can't be translated to film..."
I agree! Dark Matter is excellent. Hopefully it all comes together and they go into production soon - they've got the producers lined up and just announced the director.
Wow. Thanks a bunch.What about VEERAM - Macbeth from india?
Ev wrote: "The movie is never adequate enough to take the place of the book. The written word is more powerful, in my opinion."
I agree Ev, the book is usually better than the film adaptation
There are a few exceptions!!
I agree Ev, the book is usually better than the film adaptation
There are a few exceptions!!
Brooke wrote: "Also premiering in February is HBO's "limited dramatic series" of Big Little Lies. It's based on the book by Liane Moriarty."That's awesome! I didn't knew it's going to get turned into a tv show, I really liked the book.
Aiyana wrote: "I heard that Ready Player One by Ernest Cline might be made into a movie. Does anyone know if that's true? I might be mistaken."It's being made at the moment - according to IMDb, it's actually in post-production, although it doesn't appear to be coming out until 2018. And the director? One S. Spielberg...
Speaking in generalities, the novel is usually better than the film. The Shawshank Redmption, as someone else has already said, is a rare exception where the movie is more satisfying than the story it's based on (although I'm sure there are others - off the top of my head, The Godfather and Jaws come to mind). Having said that, there are some books I've read, and not enjoyed, but thought while reading them that they would be great on the big screen - Justin Cronin's 'The Passage' is one I'm very much looking forward to seeing at the cinema. One novel I thought was brilliant, that I would LOVE to see getting a big screen adap, is Emily St John Mandel's 'Station Eleven'.
Wonder is so beautiful. If you haven't read it, do it now.
Trang wrote: "I cried so hard watching A Monster Calls, really good movie (the book's still better though).I really look forward to Wonder and A Dog's Purpose. And also Netflix's adaptation of A Series of Unfor..."
Yes! When I saw the Netflix trailer for A Series of Unfortunate Events I was so happy. :D
Oh my look at the line up for The Circle. The book left me with a erhhhh feeling but I suspect the movie may deliver.
Gabriel wrote: "Wonder is so beautiful. If you haven't read it, do it now."Gokulnath wrote: "Wow. Thanks a bunch.
What about VEERAM - Macbeth from india?"
I was so pleasantly surprised by Wonder. Scared the movie will ruin it.
Ev wrote: "The movie is never adequate enough to take the place of the book. The written word is more powerful, in my opinion."Couldn't agree more Ev
A Gift From The Stars would ve a great addition to the list. It is an extremely visual book. Whoever has read the book will testify to its claims to be a natural for film.
The old soldier and warrior in me (a Vietnam veteran) wants to see "Matterhorn" by Karl Marlantes on the big screen. The only movie about the Vietnam War that I found authentic was "We Were Soldiers, Once and Young." Most others were too "Hollywood fantasy" for me to consider real. Matterhorn is the most authentic of books about the war that I have read, which I would estimate at about 50. Matterhorn put me right back in the oppressive heat, slimy mud and darkest jungle, listening to the bullets zipping and buzzing all around, smacking into tree trunks, palm leaves and human flesh.
Ev wrote: "The movie is never adequate enough to take the place of the book. The written word is more powerful, in my opinion."Disagree. "The Cruel Sea", "The Day Of The Jackal" and...although it's a tv series/movie..."Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" [the original, starring an insanely talented cast led by Sir Alec Guinness]. The characters in the latter were the characters in the book.
I'm so excited for Wonder. I didn't even know that was going to be a movie until recently and I was extremely excited upon finding out because Wonder is one of my favorites of all time. And then I found out that Daveed Diggs was going to be in it and I could barely even contain my excitement.
For Pete's sake... His name isn't "Shusaku Endoby". It's Shusaku Endō.
'Ghost in the Shell''s going to be white-washing trash. Everyone's better off watching the original animation, or any of the other numerous adaptations.
I'm watching Fences, reading the book and watching Hidden Figures and watching Beauty and the Beast.
Sooo excited for 
This is also not listed but i the release date is unknown...
Just hurry up already! I'm dying for this film to come out
Aubrey wrote: "'Ghost in the Shell''s going to be white-washing trash. Everyone's better off watching the original animation, or any of the other numerous adaptations."Agreed. So disappointed to see that on this list, I thought Goodreads was better than that.
Yumecosmos wrote: "Aubrey wrote: "'Ghost in the Shell''s going to be white-washing trash. Everyone's better off watching the original animation, or any of the other numerous adaptations."Agreed. So disappointed to ..."
A lot of Japanese people actually don't care about the main character's casting, they said it was good since she looked like the part. Most anime characters are designed to have ambiguous races, that's why they are often blonde and stuff.
But you know, whatever.
Elizabeth, I used to think the same way. Here's why I now believe it's a problem.Japanese people in Japan don't have quite the same perspective on racism and cultural appropriation because they aren't a racial minority where they live. That's not to say they don't experience the negative effects of racism and white-centric standards of beauty, but they aren't constantly subjected to the erasure of their culture the way that minorities in America are.
To point to the opinions of people in Japan as if they trump the opinions of Japanese Americans implies that the people in Japan people are the "real" Asians and Japanese Americans' ethnicity/culture is somehow less valid. Further, if these "real" Japanese people can then speak on behalf of Japanese Americans about American issues, then that implies that Japanese Americans still "belong" to Japan on some level and are not in fact Americans.
This was the thinking that gave us the WW2 internment camps.
Maybe it's true that the third or fourth generation children of immigrants start to lose touch with their Asian heritage. But that's exactly the erasure I'm talking about. Because why is white treated as the one true American culture? Why are other cultures encouraged to assimilate, which basically means learning to act white?
Asian Americans are not half Asian and half American. The United States does not belong only to white people. Maybe you're thinking, "I didn't say that!" But that is the message of whitewashing in Hollywood.
Re: "anime characters are designed to have ambiguous races," this is an oft-repeated myth. More here, if you'd like an essay: https://thesocietypages.org/socimages... But to sum it up, the "default" image of a human being in western cultures tends to be a white person, so when we see a highly stylized character--i.e. anime--we tend to assume they look white. It's a projection, not the intention of the creators.
Eagerly awaiting beauty and the beast and the circle. Which I have just realised both have emma watson yet my excitment has nothing to do with emma watson...
