Sign in with Facebook
21 Books to Read Before They Become 2017's Biggest Adaptations
Bookworms and movie buffs, unite: 2017 may just be your year. In the coming months, book-to-screen adaptations will bring the works of Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Gillian Flynn—among many others—to the big and small screen.
In addition to the list below, we're still eagerly awaiting the 2017 release dates for movie versions of Jeannette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, starring Brie Larson, and Jeff VanderMeer's science fiction thriller, Annihilation, starring Natalie Portman. And in the TV world, HBO has announced it's airing a series based on Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson.
Check out the upcoming book-to-screen adaptations below and tell us which movies you're excited about—and the ones for which you still need to read the book!
April 16
Adapted from Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel, this new TV series on Starz follows Elizabeth of York, daughter of the White Queen, and her turbulent marriage to England's King Henry VII. It stars Jodie Comer and Jacob Collins-Levy.
April 21
Craving a bit of true-life drama? Travel deep into the 1920s Amazon on an ill-fated expedition in this film, based on the book by David Grann. It stars Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, and Tom Holland.
April 22
Based on Rebecca Skloot's true story of an African American woman who posthumously becomes an unwitting medical pioneer—and her family's fight for justice. It stars Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne, and Courtney B. Vance.
April 26
Based on Margaret Atwood's classic feminist dystopian novel, this ten-episode series stars Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Jordana Blake, and O.T. Fagbenle.
April 28
Dave Eggers' thriller follows the dark turns that occur when a young woman goes to work at the world's most powerful internet company. It stars Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega.
April 30
Neil Gaiman's fantasy that follows gods who immigrate to America premieres on Starz with an eight-episode season. It stars Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, and Emily Browning.
May 5
Just how far will parents go to protect their children? Far enough to earn an R rating! Based on the disturbing book by Herman Koch, the film stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Steve Coogan.
May 12
This Netflix series is based on the whimsical and charming childhood classic Anne of Green Gables and stars newcomer Amybeth McNulty, who beat out 1,800 young actresses to score the part.
May 12
We love a good folktale retelling. This film is based on Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Well, loosely based. It's directed by king-of-the-cool-action-movie Guy Ritchie and stars Charlie Hunnam and Hermione Corfield.
May 19
Jeff Kinney's beloved children's series focuses on Greg Heffley navigating his way through the world of middle school. The movie version stars Alicia Silverstone, Tom Everett Scott, and Alexa Blair Robertson.
May 19
This movie is based on Nicola Yoon's young adult novel about a girl who's allergic to the world. Then one day a boy moves next door and everything changes. It stars Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, and Anika Noni Rose.
May 21
Here's a tricky one: 25 years ago this was a TV show, which inspired a book, which is now returning as a Showtime series. Got that? Check out Mark Frost's secret history of the town with damn good coffee. It stars Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, and Sheryl Lee.
June 2
Dav Pilkey's underdressed superhero has been amusing kids for years. Now he's making his big-screen debut. The film stars Jordan Peele, Nick Kroll, and Kevin Hart.
July 14
Daphne du Maurier's romantic mystery follows a young man who seeks revenge on his cousin's beautiful widow. It stars Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, and Holliday Grainger.
July 25
Want to sink your teeth into some paranormal TV? Charlaine Harris, whose work inspired HBO's True Blood, returns to TV with this series on the NBC network. It stars François Arnaud, Dylan Bruce, and Arielle Kebbel.
July 28
We know, we know: This is the one many of you have been eagerly or anxiously anticipating. Stephen King's epic fantasy will star Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, and Katheryn Winnick.
September 8
But wait! There's even more Stephen King headed to theaters this year! The reason you're afraid of clowns will star Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, and Javier Botet.
October TBD
David Fincher (of House of Cards fame) returns with his second Netflix show, which follows an FBI agent (played by Jonathan Groff) who develops crime-profiling techniques by interviewing serial killers.
October 20
Charles Martin's story of a couple who survive a plane crash in the mountains and their struggle to survive will star Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, and Dermot Mulroney.
November 17
Based on the adored 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 that he's one of them. It stars Room's Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts.
November 22
This Agatha Christie classic murder mystery, which follows detective Hercule Poirot's investigation of a wealthy American's death aboard the Orient Express, will star Josh Gad, Johnny Depp, and Daisy Ridley.
Which films are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments!
Check out more recent blogs:
New Books (By Genre) You're Reading Now
Catch Up with These Series Before the Next Book Comes Out
Goodreads Hack: Are You 'Reading' Compatible with Your Friends?
Comments Showing 51-100 of 179 (179 new)
message 51:
by
Miroslav
(new)
Apr 04, 2017 06:45AM
The link on Agatha Christie's name in the article is wrong - it leads to Charles Martin's page.
flag
You forgotTheir Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans. The movie comes out next week as Their Finest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Their_F...
Penny wrote: "I'm going to be interested to see how the tv series of 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood pans out (if we ever get to see it in New Zealand). I wasn't a fan of the movie adaptation in the late 80s/early 90s(? can't remember the date). Total B-grade movie for an A-grade book.Another 'Anne of Green Gables'...oh I don't know if I can handle anyone except Megan Follows doing Anne, nor the late and lovely Jonathan Crombie doing Gilbert [even if the last series did mess with the story and timeline]. We'll see...
And Twin Peaks? What the? Nobody should mess with that - it was a show of the time it came out and I think we shouldn't be re-doing or re-visiting any of it. Last time I saw 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' I cringed even though I loved it when it came out and sat in the movie theatre eating cherry pie to celebrate.
What would I like to see? If they're going to do LM Montgomery, I wish someone would do the Emily series: Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest. The writer in me loves the writer in her... "
yes, to everything she said.
Meg wrote: "why would you make the link to imdb and not the book on goodreads??!!"
If you click the photo of the book, it will take you to the goodreads page. :)
If you click the photo of the book, it will take you to the goodreads page. :)
I'm actually annoyed that they're making a movie of Wonder. One of the main points in the book is not knowing what Auggie looks like. In fact, it's the lead sentence on GR's book page: "I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." How can they maintain that aspect in a movie?!?
It depends on a lot of things. Sometimes the producers can do such a wonderful job, and yet others not so much. Film is harder to do because there is limited time, and one has to pick and choose with the details. But sometimes there are soke excellent ones!
It, Murder on the Orient Express, The Handmaid's Tale, Mind Hunter and Midnight Texas and lady but not least My Cousin Rachel.
Quite a few of these are remakes... Anne of Green Gables, It, Murder on the Orient Express, etc. You think there would be enough books around to find new material!
Heidi wrote: "Quite a few of these are remakes... Anne of Green Gables, It, Murder on the Orient Express, etc. You think there would be enough books around to find new material!"While I generally agree about being fed up of seeing so many remakes, when it comes to ones that have been made from books I think of them more as different adaptations. Sometimes certain movies/tv shows made from books can be very different and have changed a lot of the book and so new versions can actually be better because they might stick more to the source material and make it more accurate. In those cases, I think making a different movie or show about the same book can be a good thing.
I'm happy to see that some one noticed both Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale and Skloot's The Immortal Lives of Henrietta Lacks. They were both wonderful stories that are worth seeing as films. Great reads too.
Interesting list. I reviewed 'The Damascus Cover' by Howard Kaplan recently (for Big Al & Pals - also on my blog judimoore.wordpress.com). I understood that the movie of it was to be released in 2017. The late, great John Hurt had a part in it. The book is in the Le Carre tradition, set (unsurprisingly) in the Middle East and has a lot to say about the parlous state of that part of the world, as well as having all the ingredients for becoming a great action movie.
Does whoever put this list together have access to information about when 'The Damascus Cover' will be released, please?
I didn't know Twin Peaks was a book! That show's been on my to-watch list for awhile - I'm actually kind of bummed out there's going to be a movie now, I would've liked to be a fan first. XDAlso looking forward to Captain Underpants, I saw the trailers for it and it actually surprisingly looked pretty good.
Oh yeah and The Dark Tower - although I adore that series I just can't muster up any hype for the film; I just know it won't come close to being as good as the books. Ditto for IT, my favorite Stephen King book.
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman and Something Like Summer by Jay Bell are both being released as movies this year! :D
Dana wrote: "I didn't know Twin Peaks was a book! That show's been on my to-watch list for awhile - I'm actually kind of bummed out there's going to be a movie now, I would've liked to be a fan first. XDAlso l..."
Twin Peaks is going to be another TV series, not a movie.
My Cousin Rachel and Murder on the Orient Express, have read both and look forward to seeing them on the big screen!
The Lost City of Z- I'm reading it now. The book has long passages of historical background between the sections which describe the actual search for the Lost City. It will be interesting to see how that is handled in the movie.Murder on the Orient Express - looks like a lot of good actors. I just hope it doesn't suffer from the Johnny Depp jinx and turn out to be lousy and nothing like the book.
"It" was a great book and a flawless tv miniseries. I want to see the film, but it will be very hard to beat the tv version.Also American Gods!
I hope they do The Dark Tower justice. I've always imagined that a movie adaptation could rival other epics, like Lord of the Rings.
Missed a big one. AMC is presenting a series based on The Son by Philipp Meyer, a wonderful novel. It starts on Sat., April 8th and stars Pierce Brosnan.
Mary wrote: "You forgot the Zookeeper's wife!"yes, I loved the book and hope they did good with the movie. Sadly it is not coming out yet in my city!
Judi wrote: "Interesting list. I reviewed 'The Damascus Cover' by Howard Kaplan recently (for Big Al & Pals - also on my blog judimoore.wordpress.com). I understood that the movie of it was to be released in ..."
It doesn't have a release date quite yet! Check out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3457508/
Desmond wrote: "Great list!The Empire of a Thousand Planets is also being released under the title "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" on July 21, 2017. It inspired many sci-fi works, i..."
Thanks for that title! I saw the trailer for Valerian yesterday; read that it was adapted from classic sci-fi awhile back. I planned looking for the book at the library.
Kristine wrote: "Thanks for that title!
Glad to help, Kristine!
Glad to help, Kristine!
Soooo looking forward to My Cousin Rachel and The Lost City of Z.
Desmond wrote: "Great list!The Empire of a Thousand Planets is also being released under the title "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" on July 21, 2017. It inspired many sci-fi works, i..."
Yep.
Nilton wrote: "The Nightindale, by Kristin Hannah. So far just a director has been selected."I can't wait for this one!!
American Assasin by Vince Flynn! Movie version comes in September. Dylan O'Brien as Mitch Rapp-okay; Michael Keaton as Stan Hurley-Yeah!
How is it that Voyager by Diana Galbadon is not on the September list?
Everything, Everything, American Gods, The Handmaid's Tale, and Captain Underpants
I'm looking forward to The Dinner as it was an very interesting book. I hope the movie doesn't spoil it as some movies don't make the transition well.
The name of the wind must be considered 'most anticipated ' adaptation also?
Can't believe you missed The Son, since ads for it have been plastered all over GR for weeks!! :) Just read it and am looking forward to the tv series.Also, I just read Henrietta Lacks and am looking forward to that as well as Lost City of Z.
Cybil wrote: "Judi wrote: "Interesting list. I reviewed 'The Damascus Cover' by Howard Kaplan recently (for Big Al & Pals - also on my blog judimoore.wordpress.com). I understood that the movie of it was to be..."
Thank you, Cybil. Perhaps the untimely loss of John Hurt has delayed matters. I can't read much of the IMDB informaton as I'm not a paying member - but I get the gist :-)
Elyse wrote: "Dana wrote: "I didn't know Twin Peaks was a book! That show's been on my to-watch list for awhile - I'm actually kind of bummed out there's going to be a movie now, I would've liked to be a fan fir..."And don't forget the sequel TV series - 'Fire Walk With Me'. Looking forward to revisiting it all :-)
Where is "The Snowman" based on the crime novel of the same name by Jo Nesbo???? It's going to be released in October, 2017: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758810/?...
Francesca wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Quite a few of these are remakes... Anne of Green Gables, It, Murder on the Orient Express, etc. You think there would be enough books around to find new material!"While I generally..."
You make a very good point... I guess it's not quite the same as rebooting Spider-Man three times in 20 years!
Francesca wrote: "Meg wrote: "why would you make the link to imdb and not the book on goodreads??!!"Thank you! I thought the same thing. Or at least have a link to both."
Yes! I agree! I wanted the book link and not the movie. :(
Melanie wrote: "I've seen an older production of Murder on the Orient Express starring David Suchet and loved it. I'm looking forward to seeing how this classic will be redone! Hoping it is done well.Also - Hand..."
Melanie,
I'm old enough to remember and love an even older production with Albert Finney, Sean Connery, and numerous stars of the '70's, and it's one of my favorites. Look for it, you won't be disappointed.
Belinda
This list is great! Thanks so much for the heads up. Appreciate the listing of the actors in the films. Idris Elba is one of my favorites~
I hope The Handmaid's Tale series will be better than the original movie, which was nowhere near as chilling as the excellent book! As a lifelong Agatha Christie fan, I'm excited to see Orient Express on the list. Less excited to see Johnny Depp will be in it.
Uhhhhh the Cormoran Strike series starting on the BBC!!!
Brad wrote: "Uhhhhh the Cormoran Strike series starting on the BBC!!!"Yes!!!
