Upcoming Book-To-Screen Adaptations: What To Read Before The Movie Or TV Show

Do you love reading the book before the movie or TV show? Well, you’ve come to the right place. There’s seriously so many page-turners and great books getting adaptations among upcoming 2026 movies and the 2026 TV schedule and beyond. Your TBR is about to be stacked!

Where to start? From the first Harry Potter TV series to the latest ice skating romance movie, there’s a lot here. Dear bookworms, browse this shelf and pick up the titles that make you want to say ‘I read that one’ before they become a major movie or series.

The Cat In The Hat (Dr. Seuss)

Who can forget Dr. Seuss’ beloved 1957 children’s book, The Cat In The Hat? In it, the titular cat in the hat pays a girl and her brother a visit on a rainy day while their mother is away. It was previously adapted for live action in 2003, but the latest version is an animated movie starring Bill Hader as The Cat. Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang and Xochitl Gomez are also among the voice cast. Ahead of The Cat in the Hat release date, the trailer may have just won us over on the reboot.

The Good Daughter (Karin Slaughter)

One exciting book pulled from the “Thriller” section that’s becoming a TV show is Karin Slaughter’s The Good Daughter. It follows two sisters, Charlotte and Samantha, who both experienced a violent attack at their family home 28 years prior. It left their mother dead and them and their father traumatized. The book promises “shocking” twists and turns at the center of the night that changed their lives forever. The Peacock series stars Meghann Fahy, Rose Byrne and Brendan Gleeson and was created by the author herself.

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a very famous holiday story that has had many iterations over the years. In recent decades, we’ve seen everything from 1992’s The Muppets Christmas Carol to the Jim Carrey-led motion-capture version from 2009. This tradition is continuing this holiday season with A Christmas Carol movie from horror director Ti West. It will star Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge, with Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, and Sam Claflin also in the cast.

Being Heumann (Judith Heumann)

Judy Heumann was one of the most influential disability rights activists in U.S. history. In her 2020 memoir, she tells her story, which begins when she became paralyzed from polio at 18 months. Most notably, Heumann staged a historic 28-day occupation of a federal building in San Francisco to ask for equal rights for her community. The movie comes from the writer/director of Best Picture winner CODA and stars Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien, Rob Delaney and Ray Fisher.

Victorian Psycho (Virginia Feito)

Victorian Psycho is a book that came out just last year and is already a movie! It takes place in 19th century England, where a governess, Winifred Notty, has been hired to take care of two children at a place called Ensor House. Winifred isn’t the kind caretaker that she seems, as she has a past with the house that inspires her to enact revenge. The movie stars Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Jason Isaacs, Jacobi Jupe and Evie Templeton.

The Bodyguard (Katherine Center)

Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard is a romantic comedy of a novel set over the holidays. It follows a famous actor named Jack Stapleton and his bodyguard, Hannah Brooks, who pose as a couple when he goes back home to be near his sick mom as a cover. If you love the fake dating trope, this is a good one! The movie will star Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki, and was renamed Guarding Stars since there’s already another famous movie called The Bodyguard. The trailer has us excited for the Netflix Christmas movie.

The Titan’s Curse (Rick Riordan)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is back for a third season, which means it’s time to see The Titan’s Curse be adapted to screen for the first time. The third book in Rick Riordan’s popular YA series has Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover coming across more legends from Greek mythology, like a Manticore, Artemis, Talos and many more.

Way of the Warrior Kid (Jocko Willink)

In 2017, United States Navy SEAL Jocko Willink wrote a children’s novel called Way of the Warrior Kid. In it, a fifth-grader’s life turns around when his Uncle Jake, a Navy SEAL, comes to stay for the summer and makes a plan to turn his nephew Marc, into a “warrior.” The movie stars Chris Pratt as Uncle Jake and is helmed by McG, best known for the 2000s Charlie’s Angels movies.

Sunrise On The Reaping (Suzanne Collins)

After the success of the first Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, as both a novel and a movie, Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate aren’t done with Panem yet. A follow-up novel called Sunrise on the Reaping, which tells the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy’s Hunger Games, was announced at the same time as the movie. The cast is pretty much perfect and the movie is already proving to have a bunch of details from the book. And, rumor has it the movie might be bringing back some of the actors from the original movies.

Excavations (Kate Myers)

Amy Poehler is set to star in a new Peacock comedy series called Dig. It’s based on a best-selling novel about four archeologists who discover something big at a site in Greece. The series is created by Mike Schur (of Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place) and Poehler. Recently, it was announced that some talent from New Girl and Brooklyn 99 are also in the cast. It’s one of our most anticipated comedies of the fall, for sure.

The Mosquito Bowl (Buzz Bissinger)

In 2022, Buzz Bissinger put out The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. It’s a sports narrative novel about an American football game that was played on the island of Guadalcanal back in 1944. The movie will star Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis from Friday Night Lights’ Peter Berg. If you’re looking for an emotional true story set during World War II give this one a try.

In A Holidaze (Christina Lauren)

In recent years, In A Holidaze has been a go-to lighthearted romantic novel to read during Christmastime. Now, Netflix has snapped this one up for their holiday slate. It’s about a young woman who gets stuck in a Christmas time loop after making a holiday wish to “Please. Show me what will make me happy.” To complicate things further, her on-repeat Christmas involves an awkward love triangle between her and two brothers. The movie stars Maddie Ziegler alongside a cast including Rob Lowe, Patton Oswalt and Jackie Sandler.

Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Wow, Netflix is really crushing it with cozy book-to-screen adaptations this holiday season! This next one is a new take on an absolute classic, Pride & Prejudice. The Crown’s Emma Corrin will play Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden will be Mr. Darcy. Also in the cast is Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, Fiona Shaw and Louis Partridge. We can’t wait to see the Jane Austen book get the TV show treatment.

Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)

While a lot of the book-to-screen adaptations on this list are staying rather close to their source material, the new version of Mrs. Dalloway takes quite a few liberties. Mrs. Dalloway is one of Virginia Woolf's most famous works, and it follows a 51-year-old upper-class woman named Clarissa Dalloway during a single day in 1923 as she gets ready for an evening party. Clarissa adapts the material through a different context considering it happens in modern-day Lagos, Nigeria with Sophie Okonedo playing Clarissa. It will explore the queer themes of the book through a more contemporary lens.

Dune Messiah (Frank Herbert)

After Denis Villeneuve adapted the first Dune book across two films to massive success, he has continued the saga with book 2, Dune Messiah. The sci-fi sequel continues the story of Paul Atreides 12 years after his rise to power. He’s emperor, but the weight of the war he has caused begins to change him. Dune is coming out the same day as Avengers: Doomsday, making for a big weekend at the movies. You can check out the latest footage now.

Harry Potter & The Sorceror’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)

Somehow, it’s been fifteen years since the Harry Potter movies ended, and it’s apparently already time to pass the wand to a new generation! HBO has made a Harry Potter TV show which will start the story from the beginning with a brand new cast of actors in the roles. Season 1 covers the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and is named as such. You can check out the latest trailer ahead of the series premiering this Christmas!

The Children of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi)

In January 2025, it was announced that Paramount is adapting Tomi Adeyemi’s beloved YA novel, The Children of Blood and Bone, and the cast is stacked. Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Chiwetel Ejifor and Amandla Stenberg are among the stars in the fantasy film that blends West African mythology and the Yoruba culture with fantastical elements inspired by the likes of Harry Potter. The director of The Old Guard and The Woman King, Gina Prince-Bythewood is the writer/director behind the adaptation. Sadly, the latest news about this movie is that Tomi Adeyemi has said she “will not watch it” (per Deadline).

Remain (Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shymalan)

In an unlikely pairing, thriller filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and romance author Nicholas Sparks, have collaborated on Remain. The book sees a New York architect, Tate, venturing to Cape Cod to get a fresh start in life. Tate spent the last four months in a psychiatric facility for acute depression following the loss of his sister. She had a revelation to Tate on her deathbed: the ability to see spirits still tethered to the living world runs in their family. When Tate strikes up a connection with a woman named Wren in his new dwelling, he’s challenged to face his family secret. You can check out the Remain trailer ahead of its February release.

The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)

After Greta Gerwig brought back Barbie in a big way with 2023’s smash hit, her next passion project is adapting the Narnia books for Netflix. She’s starting with one of the installments from C.S. Lewis’s series that has never become a movie before, The Magician’s Nephew. While it’s technically the sixth Narnia book that was published, it’s often thought of as the first in the series. It’s the book set earliest in the timeline, and also explains the origins of many of the world’s characters and elements. Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan and Emma Mackey lead the movie’s cast. The first trailer recently came out, and it boasts a unique take on the fantasy series.

The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)

The horror phenomenon is coming back to haunt us (again), thanks to writer/director Mike Flanagan. The Exorcist started as a 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, allegedly based on true events of a child’s demonic possession in the 1940s. Blatty wrote the screenplay for the iconic 1973 movie based on his book, which follows a mother grappling with her 12-year-old daughter Regan’s possession.

The upcoming take on The Exorcist will star Scarlett Johansson, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Chiwetel Ejifor, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle and many more. Flanagan has proved to be incredibly capable of delivering us with solid adaptations of horror stories. So, even though this is a remake, we expect this to enlighten us in ways we’ve yet to see on film.

The Nightingale (Kristen Hannah)

We’ve been hearing for years about the Fanning sisters wanting to collaborate on something as adults. Finally, it’s happening for the adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, which THR originally announced in 2019. It wasn’t made official until July 2025 (per Deadline) and started production in late March, per an Instagram post from the author. It’s about two sisters being separated in France during World War II and having their own epic journeys in order to survive.

The Long Game (Rachel Reid)

Around this time last year, Heated Rivalry took romance fans by storm when it gave us a smutty show for queer folks. It became a phenomenon, so of course we’re getting a second season! While we don’t have the official release date, creator Jacob Tierney told CBS Mornings in October that we should expect it this upcoming spring. It’s also confirmed to be structured around The Long Game book, which follows Shane and Ilya a decade into their relationship.

Beach Read (Emily Henry)

Emily Henry has been populating romance shelves as of late with bestseller after bestseller. And for the first-time next year, she’ll have a chance to be behind a summer blockbuster! After Henry’s book, People We Meet On Vacation became a Netflix hit movie, Beach Read is getting adapted by 20th Century Studios for the big screen. It’s about romance novelist January Andrews (Phoebe Dynevor in the movie) as she deals with a tragic transition. While living at an old beach house, she runs into her former college rival Augustus Everett (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and they start to bond over their mutual writer’s block.

Fake Skating (Lynn Painter)

Following the success of two hockey romance shows, Heated Rivalry and Off Campus, Hollywood is adapting Fake Skating. It’s about two childhood sweethearts who decide to fake that they’re in a relationship to get ahead in their own ways. The movie is going to be helmed by The Fault In Our Stars’ director Josh Boone and comes from Sony Pictures.

Old Country (Matt & Harrison Query)

Old Country is a thrilling novel about a couple who move to a beautiful home in rural Idaho. But, as each season passes in their new dwelling, something haunting grows in power. It started as a short story that went viral on Reddit, and was then turned into a novel. The movie stars Lily James, Jack Reynor and Ron Perlman and is directed by Companion’s Drew Hancock.

Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Hugh Jackman as a pirate? Sign us up! The X-Men actor is set to play Captain Long John Silver in an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson book with Ridley Scott directing. The famed adventure story is about a young boy who finds a map to a storied treasure, and goes on a sea-faring quest to find it.

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin)

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow is a long-spanning fictional novel about two video game developers. They meet as kids before reconnecting in college, making a hit video game and later having a falling out. It’s a really affecting novel about friendship. Paramount Pictures is producing a movie adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as Sadie Green.

The Housemaid’s Secret

After Freida McFadden’s bestselling mystery The Housemaid became a commercial success, Lionsgate is already getting going on the sequel called The Housemaid’s Secret. The movie will once again star Sydney Sweeney as Millie, the housemaid and convicted felon. This time Kristen Dunst will star as her new client and Love Story’s Paul Anthony Kelly is playing her husband. The source material has Millie working for another wealthy couple, the Garricks. She will uncover new secrets behind the scenes while she’s their housemaid .

Alone at Dawn (Dan Schilling & Lori Chapman Longfritz)

Director Ron Howard has been very interested in telling true stories lately, and his next movie is no exception. The Apollo 13 filmmaker is making a movie about U.S. Air Force Combat Controller Master Sergeant John Chapman who heroically saved 23 of his comrades while entirely alone following the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan in 2002.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (Dr. Seuss)

Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is a favorite book given as a gift to students during graduation season. But, soon it’ll also be an animated movie musical! Wicked director Jon M. Chu is behind the project which has La La Land composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul behind all the original songs. Ariana Grande and Josh Gad are the movie’s stars. As we wait for more details, it’s a great time to pick up the picture book and imagine what it might be like as a motion picture.

The Lunar Chronicles (Marissa Meyer)

Marissa Meyer’s bestselling YA fantasy series The Lunar Chronicles is getting an exciting animated adaptation from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation, per Deadline. Each one of The Lunar Chronicles are science fiction twists of classic fairytales. There’s Cinderella in Cinder, Little Red Riding Hood for Scarlet, Rapunzel for Cress and Snow White for Fairest. Not enough adaptations that get the animation treatment, so we’re especially hyped for this one.

Upcoming Book Adaptations Without A Release Date

• All The Sinners Bleed TV show (by S.A. Cosby)
• Artemis Fowl TV show (by Eoin Colfer)
• The Bell Jar movie (by Sylvia Plath)
• Better Than The Movies movie (by Lynn Painter)
• Book Lovers movie (by Emily Henry)
• Bridgerton Season 5 based on When He Was Wicked (by Julia Quinn)
• Broken Country movie (by Clare Leslie Hall)
• The Chain TV show (by Adrian McKinty)
• The Correspondent movie (by Virginia Evans)
• A Court Of Thorns And Roses TV show (by Sarah J. Mass)
• Crazy Rich Asians TV show (by Kevin Kwan)
• The Custom of the Country movie (by Edith Wharton)
• The Dark Tower TV show (by Stephen King)
• Dungeon Crawler Carl TV show (by Matt Dinniman)
• Everflame TV show (by Penn Cole)
• Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (by Benjamin Stevenson)
• Every Year After Season 2 (Carley Fortune)
• Fairy Tale TV show (by Stephen King)
• Fourth Wing TV show (by Rebecca Yarros)
• Funny Story movie (by Emily Henry)
• Funny You Should Ask movie (by Elissa Sussman)
• Happy Place movie (by Emily Henry)
• It Happened One Summer movie (by Tess Bailey)
• Lincoln in the Bardo movie (by George Saunders)
• Love, Theoretically movie (Ali Hazelwood)
• The Midnight Library movie (by Matt Haig)
• The Ministry of Time movie (Kaliane Bradley)
• The Mist movie (by Stephen King)
• None Of This Is True movie (by Lisa Jewell)
• Off Campus Season 2 (by Elle Kennedy)
• Rose Hill (by Elsie Silver)
• Things We Never Got Over TV show (by Lucy Score)
• The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo movie (by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
• Throttled movie (by Lauren Asher)
• Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage movie (by Belle Burden)
• Recursion movie and TV series (by Blake Crouch)
• Red Rising movie (Pierce Brown)
• Yesteryear movie (by Caro Claire Burke)
• You Deserve Each Other movie (by Sarah Hogle)
• The Wolf King TV series (by Lauren Palphreyman)

Anyone else ready to head to the library and the bookstore to get caught up on these? There are so many upcoming book-to-screen adaptations on the way, and following along with what's next via your reading list is a great way to enjoy these movies and TV shows even more!