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 a movie based on Frank Herbert’s Dune: Messiah to the first Harry Potter TV series, 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.

Carrie (Stephen King)

Carrie is a particularly special Stephen King work because it’s his first horror novel. Sure, it’s been adapted before, but Mike Flanagan is behind this one. The filmmaker/TV creator has an excellent track record of adapting King’s work over the years to critical acclaim and to the writer’s praise as well. First reactions to the series call it “heartbreakingly great,” “phenomenal,” and “compelling”.

Incidents Around The House (Josh Malerman)

Josh Malerman’s horror novel, Incidents Around The House, has only been around since summer 2024, but it’s been quickly turned into a Hollywood production. Malerman is the author of Bird Box and the movie comes from Universal and Atomic Monster. In the story, an eight-year-old girl becomes haunted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy.” The cast includes 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!

Sense & Sensibility (Jane Austen)

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen’s first published book, is getting another movie adaptation this fall with Daisy Edgar-Jones, Caitriona Balfe, George MacKay and Fiona Shaw. The classic is about the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (who signifies sense) and Marianne (who signifies sensibility), as they deal with being young women in Regency-era England. Emma Thompson was previously in a 1995 movie version.

Whalefall (Daniel Kraus)

After Daniel Kraus’s Whalefall was named one of the best books of 2023 by many critics, and now it’s a movie. A man named Gardiner (Austin Abrams) travels to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California to find his father’s remains. While below, he gets swallowed by a whale and must find a way out. Brian Duffield has a great track record of making unique and thought-provoking movies, such as Spontaneous and No One Will Save You. The story behind how it became an adaptation is pretty wild. You can check out the latest trailer ahead of its upcoming release.

Klara And The Sun (Kazuo Ishiguro)

Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel Klara and the Sun has been a sci-fi favorite since it came out. Now, it’s about to be the next movie from Taika Waititi. It follows a robot named Klara, who will be played by Jenna Ortega, whose job is to be an Artificial Friend. Also part of the cast is Amy Adams, Natasha Lyonne and Steve Buscemi. The trailer definitely points to some changes from the source material, but it looks wonderful!

Wildwood (Colin Meloy)

Stop-motion studio Laika, which has previously adapted Coraline, is putting their own take on the fantasy middle-grade novel, Wildwood. The book follows friends Prue and Curtis uncovering a hidden magical forest and becoming intertwined with its world. The movie features the voice talents of Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, and Jake Johnson. It’s helmed by ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings filmmaker Travis Knight. You can check out the Wildwood teaser trailer on YouTube.

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.

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 will be 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 first trailer may have just won us over on the reboot.

The Good Daughter (Karin Slaughter)

Another 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. 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. The first trailer was shown at CinemaCon, and audiences called Depp’s transformation “unrecognizable,” along with talking about how it’s more comedic than expected.

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 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, telling the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy’s Hunger Games, was announced at the same time as the movie. The cast that has been announced for the production quickly made fans’ dreams come true. 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. It’s one of our most anticipated comedies of the fall, for sure.

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 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. And, finally it’s happened for the adaptation for 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.

Beach Read

Emily Henry has been populating the romance shelves as of late with bestseller after bestseller. And for the first-time next year, she’ll have the first 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 a romance novelist January Andrews (Phoebe Dynevor in the movie) dealing 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.

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 .

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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Heated Rivalry Season 2 (by Rachel Reid)
• In A Holidaze movie (by Maelyn Jones)
• 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 (Elle Kennedy)
• Rose Hill (Elsie Silver)
• The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo movie (by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
• Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage movie (by Belle Burden)
• Recursion movie and TV series (by Blake Crouch)
• Yesteryear movie (by Caro Claire Burke)
• You Deserve Each Other movie (by Sarah Hogle)
• The Wolf King TV series (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!