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. Throughout this year so far, there have already been some solid adaptations to come out on the 2025 movie schedule and among 2025 TV premiere dates (like recent Netflix hit The Woman In Cabin 10 that made a big change from the book) but, there’s much more to come this year and beyond.

Time to open your TBR list, because a lot of upcoming book-to-screen adaptations are on the way across loads of genres, from Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary movie getting a trailer to the first Emily Henry adaptation now having a place on the 2026 movie release calendar. Browse this bookshelf, and pick up the titles you want to say ‘I read that book’ before they become a major movie or TV show.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

We’ve had Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein on this list over the years for various other movies, and we’re not surprised because it’s such a classic! After Diablo Cody put her own spin on the novel with Lisa Frankenstein last year, a more faithful adaptation from Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro is here. The movie coming to Netflix soon is set to star Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as the monster, Mia Goth as Victor’s fiancee and Christoph Waltz and Lars Mikkelsen also among the cast. You can check out the Frankenstein trailer ahead of checking it out with your Netflix subscription.

All Her Fault (Andrea Mara)

Andrea Mara’s thriller, All Her Fault, is about a mother who has to deal with her son suddenly going missing when he’s nowhere to be found when she picks him up for a playdate. The All Her Fault eight-episode series is coming to Peacock. It has a stacked cast, starring Sarah Snook in the leading role alongside It’s Sophia Lillis, Michael Peña, Dakota Fanning and Jay Ellis.

The Nazi and the Psychiatrist (Jack El-Hai)

If you’re in the mood for a gripping non-fiction book about World War II, grab The Nazi and the Psychiatrist before it becomes a movie. It’s about the army psychiatrist, Captain Douglas M. Kelley, who was hired by the United States to assess the well-being of captured Nazi members, and began developing relationships with them in an effort to understand them. The upcoming movie stars Rami Malek as Kelley and Russell Crowe as Nazi politician Hermann Göring.

Searching For Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl In America (Tonya Bolden)

Based on the 2014 book (which is under 100 pages for readers looking for quick reads), Sarah’s Oil will tell the true story of a young Black girl who becomes one of the wealthiest women in America when she finds oil on her family’s land. The movie stars Zachary Levi, Vincent D’Onofrio and Sonequa Martin-Green.

Die, My Love (Ariana Harwicz)

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson are set to star in a movie together after they were almost in Twilight together, and it’s a book adaptation called Die, My Love. While talk around the movie has so far been regarding their sex scenes and dance lessons, the 2018 book of the same name has a protagonist named Grace developing postpartum depression and struggles with her mental health after giving birth.

Peter Hujar’s Day (Linda Rosenkrantz)

Peter Hujar was a gay American photographer who is famous for his black and white portraits in the 70s and 80s. His friend Linda Rosenkrantz wrote Peter Hujar’s Day about an exchange she and the photographer had about what a day in his life is like. The movie has Ben Whinshaw playing Hujar and Rebecca Hall as Rosenkrantz. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to a 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Running Man (Stephen King)

Stephen King’s 1982 dystopian novel, The Running Man, has a remake on the way with Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim filmmaker Edgar Wright behind the camera. After the story of a guy who goes on a violent popular reality TV show to provide for his family was written by the King of Horror, it was initially adapted into an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. In the new adaptation, which will chillingly take place in the same year King set the novel in, Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, William H. Macy, Katy O’Brian, Michael Cera, Lee Pace and Emilia Jones in the cast. You can check out The Running Man trailer now, which includes a fun Scott Pilgrim reunion.

Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West (Gregory Maguire)

Wicked became a phenomenon all over again in 2024 with the release of the first movie, and now audiences are anticipating the Wicked: For Good release date. While the movies starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are primarily based on the hit Broadway musical, it is also based on Gregory Maguire’s book, which has the Wicked Witch telling her origin story before Dorothy kills her with a bucket of water. You can check out the final Wicked: For Good trailer as we await its exciting release.

Train Dreams (Denis Johnson)

Train Dreams is a novella that was published in 2011 about a railroad laborer in the American West living in the early 1900s who is dealing with the devastating loss of his family in a forest fire. The movie follows Joel Edgerton as the leading character of Robert Grainer along with starring Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy and Paul Schneider.

Percy Jackson And The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)

After Rick Riordan’s beloved Percy Jackson books became a hit Disney+ series in 2023, we’re happy to know that we’ll be seeing a second and third season in the near future. The upcoming Season 2 will adapt the first sequel, The Sea of Monsters. The 2006 young adult novel has demigod Percy Jackson on his second hero’s quest, which takes him and his friends to the Bermuda Triangle to save Grover from the Cyclops Polyphemus. There’s a lot of exciting new characters set to join the Season 2 cast, and production for Season 3 is already underway, too.

Hamnet (Maggie O’Farrell)

Oscar winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao is behind the Hamnet movie adaptation with Jesse Buckley, Paul Mescal and Joe Alwyn. Zhao wrote the screenplay with the book’s author Maggie O’Farrell. The book itself is from 2020, and is a fictional account of William Shakespeare’s life with his wife Agnes after their 11-year-old son died. Mescal plays Shakespeare and Buckley plays Agnes. You can see the emotional trailer on YouTube

Not Without Hope (Nick Schuyler & Jere Longman)

If you like inspiring true stories, Not Without Hope is a nonfiction book that might speak to you. It’s about a 2009 boating accident that took the lives of two NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and the best friend of Nick Schuyler, Will Bleakley. Nick Schuyler was the sole survivor, and the co-author of the book. The movie stars Zachary Levi as Schuyler with Josh Duhamel also part of the cast.

The Housemaid (Freida McFadden)

Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried have teamed up to star in an adaptation of The Housemaid from the director of Bridesmaids, Paul Feig, who was just behind Another Simple Favor. The mystery novel is an emotional rollercoaster of a read that has a young woman with a criminal record taking a job as a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy couple, and soon learns there’s something off with her new boss.

People We Meet On Vacation (Emily Henry)

Now that author Emily Henry has become one of the most fan-favorite authors in recent years, there’s a ton of upcoming Emily Henry book adaptations on the way. The first of them will be for the People We Meet On Vacation movie starring Songbirds and Snakes’ Tom Blyth and My Lady Jane’s Emily Bader as Alex and Poppy. The 2021 novel is about a pair of best friends who used to have a tradition of vacationing for a week together every year until they had a falling out. When Poppy finds she’s unhappy with her life as of late, she tries to rekindle things between her and Alex on a trip to Palm Springs.

A Knight Of Seven Kingdoms (George R.R. Martin)

The next Game of Thrones spinoff series is almost here in the form of HBO’s A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, and while we wait for House of Dragon Season 3, it looks like it could be another solid series based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world. In the instance of this show, it’s based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, which follows a hedge knight named Dunk and his squire, Egg.

Bridgerton - An Offer from a Gentleman (Julia Quinn)

Can you believe it’s already been over a year since the last season of Bridgerton premiered? Bridgerton Season 4 is coming at the start of 2026, and the love story being highlighted is from the third Bridgerton novel, An Offer From A Gentleman, about Benedict Bridgerton. The book has been likened to a Cinderella story, as it introduces the daughter of an earl, Sophie Beckett, who has become a servant at the hands of her mean stepmother. During Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball, Sophie and Benedict get the chance to meet, and she sweeps the Bridgerton man off his feet. It’ll be exciting to see the series give audiences the series’ first Korean lead in Yerin Ha, and to catch up with all the other pre-established characters.

Cold Storage (David Koepp)

David Koepp is best known as the screenwriter of famous movies like Jurassic Park, the first Mission: Impossible movie, and Spider-Man. In 2019, he also wrote a sci-fi thriller novel called Cold Storage. It’s about three strangers who must work together to contain a very contagious and deadly organism. The movie, which Koepp adapted into a screenplay, stars Liam Neeson, Georgina Campbell, and Joe Keery as these strangers.

Crime 101 (Don Winslow)

One of the most stacked casts we’ve seen has been assembled for an adaptation of the novella, Crime 101. Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan and Halle Berry are all part of the Amazon Studios crime thriller coming to theaters. The original story has readers tagging along with a jewelry thief who goes uncaught due to his personal “Crime 101” code of ethics while being pursued by a detective on his trail.

Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)

Emily Brontë’s classic gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, is being turned into another movie after the source material has been adapted over a dozen times in the past. But this time Saltburn’s Emerald Fennell is making it with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. The book itself is a love story between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff that turns destructive. So far, a lot of fans of the book are complaining about the movie whitewashing its characters, and changing the core storyline.

The Cat In The Hat (Dr. Seuss)

Who can forget Dr. Seuss’ beloved 1957 children’s book, The Cat In The Hat, where the titular cat in the hat pays a girl and her brother a visit on a rainy day when her mother is away to entertain them as his friends Thing One and Thing Two wreck the house. It was previously adapted for live action in 2003, but the latest version will be an animated movie starring Bill Hader as the cat along with Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang and Xochitl Gomez also among the voice cast. Ahead of the The Cat in the Hat release date, the first trailer may have just won us over on the reboot.

Reminders Of Him (Colleen Hoover)

The era of Colleen Hoover adaptations will continue at the top of 2026 (just in time for Valentine’s Day) with Reminders Of Him. In the 2022 novel, Kenna has just served five years in prison when she returns home to reconnect with her four-year-old daughter, which proves to open old wounds in her community. Amidst Kenna trying to gain trust back with her community, a romance grows in a risky direction. Scream queen Maika Monroe has been cast as Kenna along with Gilmore Girls’ Lauren Graham. You can check out the trailer on YouTube now.

Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)

One popular science fiction bestseller in recent years has been Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, which is now getting a movie adaptation. The book comes from the same author who previously wrote The Martian, which was adapted into a blockbuster by Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon. Project Hail Mary is the journey of a school teacher who becomes an astronaut, with the story picking up as he comes out of a coma while in space. The movie version will star Ryan Gosling as the protagonist, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller of the Spider-Verse movies serving as director.

The Dog Stars (Peter Heller)

Ridley Scott’s next movie (and book adaptation) is a movie version of Peter Heller’s 2012 dystopian book, The Dog Stars. In the book, a man named Hig has survived a deadly pandemic that has killed off everyone he knows, and resides in a small abandoned airport with his dog and a man named Bangley. The movie will star Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong.

Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns (Lauren Weisberger)

We’ve been excited for the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, but did you know there’s a book that could give away clues for where the movie is going? While we certainly don’t always expect the book and movie to be similar, there’s definitely some jumping off points in Lauren Weisberger’s Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns we expect to see in the movie. In the second of a trilogy of this series, we pick up with Andy Sachs years after her decision to quit her job at Runway. As she rises to success for her own bridal magazine with Emily, and how she ends up entangled in the life of Miranda Priestly once again.

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story (Leonie Swann)

Leonie Swann’s novel, Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story was published in 2005. The detective story about a flock of anthropomorphic Irish sheep out to solve the murder of their shepherd became an international bestseller after originally being written in German. Amazon is set to release a movie version starring Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall and Patrick Stewart.

Is God Is (Aleshea Harris)

If you’re looking to get into a play-turned-movie, look no further than Aleshea Harris’s “Is God Is,” which has twin sisters pursuing a revenge plot on their abusive father (who gave each of them burn scars) after their bedridden mother asks them to. The movie, which will be directed by its playwright, has a star-studded cast including Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox and Janelle Monáe.

The Odyssey (Homer)

After Christopher Nolan’s last film, Oppenheimer, became a box office success and the 2024 Best Picture winner, his next movie is reportedly adapting Homer’s The Odyssey next with Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron. The source material is one of two Ancient Greek epic poems from Homer (the other is The Iliad) that follows the king of Ithaca and Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the Trojan war. Most recently, the first teaser for The Odyssey has debuted, for those who went early enough to their screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth in theaters.

The Book of Magic (Alice Hoffman)

Following Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman starring in Practical Magic in 1998 to adapt Alice Hoffman’s beloved novel about witches, the pair of movie stars have reunited for the sequel that is said to be based on the 2021 sequel, The Book Of Magic. Three generations of Owens women come together to break their family’s curse that has plagued their ability to love for generations. The movie’s cast also features Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Joey King, Xoli Maridueña, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace, and wrapped filming in September.

Verity (Colleen Hoover)

Another one of Colleen Hoover’s top sellers on the way to becoming a movie is Verity. The movie will star Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, Dakota Johnson and Ismael Cruz Córdova. The title is the name of the character, Verity Crawford, who is a bestselling author herself who has been having trouble finishing her book series. Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer with financial issues who strikes gold when she’s hired by Verity’s husband to help complete the remaining books. While attempting to work on it, Lowen finds a manuscript for her autobiography that brings to attention a terrifying secret she’s hiding.

Incidents Around The House (Josh Malerman)

Josh Malerman’s horror novel, Incidents Around The House has only been around since summer 2024, but the author of Bird Box has already caught the eye of Hollywood for a Universal/Atomic Monster movie called Other Mommy. In the story, an eight-year-old girl becomes haunted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy.” The cast is set to include Jessica Chastain, Dichen Lachman, Jay Duplass and Karen Allen, and director Rob Savage, who has done recent movies like Host and The Boogeyman. Sounds like a perfect movie for Halloween!

Whalefall (Daniel Kraus)

After Daniel Kraus’s novel Whalefall was named one of the best books of 2023 by many critics, it’s becoming a movie with Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin and Elisabeth Shue. A man named Gardiner travels to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California to find his father’s remains… in the ocean, and is exposed to all sorts of dangers underwater in the thrilling process.

Remain (Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shymalan)

In an unlikely pairing, thriller filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and romance author Nicholas Sparks, have collaborated on a novel / movie called Remain. The book sees a New York architect venturing to Cape Cod to get a fresh start in life after being in a psychiatric facility for acute depression after the loss of his sister. She has 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.

Sunrise On The Reaping (Suzanne Collins)

After the success of the first Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, both as a novel in 2020 and movie in 2023, Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate are diving back into Panem to tell another story from the dystopia. As announced over the summer, a novel called Sunrise on the Reaping will tell the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy’s Hunger Games. The book was just released on March 18, 2025, less than two years before the movie’s planned release date. The cast that has been announced for the production is already making fans’ dreams come true.

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 reportedly starting with a novel from C.S. Lewis’s series that has never become a movie before, The Magician’s Nephew. While the 1955 book is technically the sixth Narnia book that was published, it’s often thought of as the first in the series due to the timeline it's set in, and how it explains the origins of many of the world’s characters and elements. So far, Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig and Emma Mackey have all been rumored to be part of the cast.

Dune Messiah (Frank Herbert)

After Denis Villeneuve adapted the first Dune book across two films, the filmmaker is getting ready to continue the saga with book 2, Dune Messiah. The sci-fi sequel book 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 weigh on him. Recently the Avengers: Doomsday release date was moved to be on the same day as Messiah, so it could be a huge weekend for movies.

The Children of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi)

In January 2025, it was announced that Paramount is adapting Tom Adeyami’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 set to write and direct the adaptation.

The Nightingale (Kristen Hannah)

We’ve been hearing for years about the Fanning sisters wanting to collaborate on the book adaptation for Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, with THR originally announcing the project in 2019. It was finally made official with a release per a Deadline report in July. The story of the novel is about sisters who are separated in France during World War II and have their own epic journeys to survive.

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 for Cinderella in Cinder, Little Red Riding Hood for Scarlet, Rapunzel for Cress and Snow White for Fairest. There’s not enough book adaptations that get the animation treatment, so we’re especially hyped for this one.

Upcoming Book Adaptations Without A Release Date

• Book Lovers movie (by Emily Henry)
• A Court Of Thorns And Roses TV show (by Sarah J. Mass)
• Dark Matter Season 2 (by Blake Crouch)
• The Dark Tower TV show (by Stephen King)
• Fairy Tale TV show (by Stephen King)
• Fourth Wing TV show (by Rebecca Yarros)
• Funny Story movie (by Emily Henry)
• Harry Potter TV show (by J.K. Rowling)
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles TV Show (by Rufi Thorpe)
• The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo movie (by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
• Recursion movie and TV series (by Blake Crouch)
• The Testaments TV series (by Margaret Atwood)

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!