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. We’re over halfway through 2025 and there have already been some solid adaptations to come out this year on the 2025 movie schedule and among 2025 TV premiere dates (like the wildly raunchy Netflix adaptation of The Hunting Wives or the emotional Stephen King movie, The Life Of Chuck) 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 two more rather exciting upcoming Stephen King movies left to come out this year. Or what about Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary movie getting a trailer or the first Emily Henry adaptation now having a place on the 2026 movie release calendar. Across numerous genres, pick up these titles so you can say ‘I read that book’ before they become major movie and TV releases.

The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)

Richard Osman’s murder mystery series, The Thursday Murder Club, is also being adapted for Netflix with an all-star cast of legendary actors set to star in the film. Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie will play the core group of elderly Brits living in a retirement home who meet every week to pass their days attempting to solve old crime cases. But, when an actual murder occurs on the grounds, they become a full-fledged private detective team (much to the police’s chagrin).

Caught Stealing (Charlie Huston)

Charlie Huston’s 2004 mystery novel, Caught Stealing, is being adapted by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky with the screenplay being written by the author himself. The book follows a retired baseball player suddenly immersed in New York crime in the 1990s. Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber and Bad Bunny are among the cast of the film.

The War Of The Roses (Charlie Huston)

After Warren Adler’s 1981 novel The War Of The Roses was previously turned into a movie from director Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, a remake is here from the director of Meet The Parents’ Jay Roach and starring Benedict Cumberbatch. While the new movie takes liberties with the plotline, the basics of the black comedy are still there. In the novel, a couple named Jonathan and Barbara Rose are living a perfect (very wealthy life) when Jonathan suffers a heart attack and Barbara realizes she wants a new life. But, both of them can’t let go of their house, and their ugly divorce only gets uglier.

The Long Walk (Stephen King)

Along with The Life Of Chuck being adapted by Mike Flanagan this summer, one of Stephen King’s early novels, The Long Walk, is also going to be a movie. Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence has helmed the dystopian story where one hundred teen boys competing in an endurance test is America’s most popular source of entertainment. The first reactions to the movie dropped recently, and it’s being called a “perfect adaptation” of the King novel and a “towering achievement reminiscent of The Outsiders and Full Metal Jacket.”

Vineland (Thomas Pynchon)

One of the most acclaimed directors of our time, Paul Thomas Anderson, has teamed up with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Alana Haim for a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland. The novel itself is about a group of Americans living in Northern California in 1984, struggling with the consequences of their lives in the sixties.

The Woman In Cabin 10 (Ruth Ware)

This 2017 New York Times Bestseller follows a travel magazine writer named Lo Blacklock, who is on an assignment aboard a luxury cruise. It’s set to be a relaxing voyage until she witnesses a woman being thrown overboard, and yet all the passengers are apparently accounted for. Now, Ruth Ware’s thriller has become a Netflix thriller starring Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham, Kaya Scodelario and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

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 recently put her own spin on the novel with Lisa Frankenstein, which critics were mixed on, we’re soon set to get a more faithful adaptation from Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro. The movie coming to Netflix 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.

Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (Warren Zanes)

Since music biopics have been in fashion lately, between the Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown, Elvis and the record-breaking Queen film Bohemian Rhapsody, the trend will officially continue with a movie about the life of Bruce Springsteen. But rather than hit all the beats of the musician’s career thus far, the film from Scott Cooper will focus on Dylan putting together his sixth album, Nebraska. It’s based on Warren Zanes’ novel Deliver Me From Nowhere novel from 2023. Jeremy Allen White is playing Springsteen, and Springsteen himself being part of the production process.

Regretting You (Colleen Hoover)

After Colleen Hoover’s bestselling phenomenon It Ends With Us was adapted in 2024, more of the author’s books are being made into movies. Regretting You tracks the difficult relationship between mother, Morgan, and her 16-year-old daughter Clara as they butt heads following the death of Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father. The movie version will star Allison Williams as Morgan, McKenna Grace as Clara and Dave Franco as the new love interest Morgan finds during the plotline. Check out the first Regretting You trailer.

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.

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.

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 Wicked: For Good trailer as we await its exciting release.

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 a second season is officially in the works that 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 will play Shakespeare and Buckley will play Agnes. The emotional trailer recently dropped on YouTube.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 this time it 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Shymalan 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 Kristen 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

• All Her Fault TV show (by Andrea Mara)
• Book Lovers movie (by Emily Henry)
• Bridgerton Season 4 (based on An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn)
• A Court Of Thorns And Roses TV show (by Sarah J. Mass)
• Cold Storage movie (by David Koepp)
• 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)
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight TV show (by George R. R. Martin)
• 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)
• Welcome To Derry TV show (by Stephen King)

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!