From beloved classics to recent releases, a myriad of books are set to be reimagined for the small and big screens.
Another chapter in the world of literary adaptations is underway.
From beloved classics like Little House on the Prairie and Judy Blume’s Forever to recent works like Deep Cuts, this year a myriad of both new and older books are going to be reimagined for the big and small screens.
Among the novels set to come to life onscreen are Margo’s Got Money Troubles, starring Elle Fanning in the tale of a young heroine finding internet fame and needed cash via OnlyFans, and The Housemaid, in which Sydney Sweeney begins working for a wealthy couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) before learning that the pair hide dangerous secrets.
This coming year, popular books getting the adaptation treatment include Ruth Ware’s bestseller The Woman in Cabin 10, the return of YA hits Maxton Hall and My Fault and another Wicked number in the sequel For Good starring Oscar-nominated stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Below The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of the books readers should keep on their radar in light of upcoming adaptations and/or releases this year. This list will be updated as more adaptations are announced.
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‘The Housemaid’
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images; Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Releasing on Netflix on Dec. 25.
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are teaming with Paul Feig for an adaptation of author Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel. Feig directed the film from Rebecca Sonnenshine’s script. Lionsgate is behind the project. The story centers on Millie (Sweeney), who lands a job as a housemaid to wealthy couple Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) before learning that the pair hide dangerous secrets. Michele Morrone also stars.
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‘Dog Man’
Image Credit: Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation Released in theaters on Jan. 31.
Based on the bestselling book series by Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey, Pete Davidson stars in the animated film centered on a crime-fighting protagonist who’s part dog, part man. The film, directed by Peter Hastings, features a voice cast consisting of Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd and Ricky Gervais.
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‘The Woman in Cabin 10’
Image Credit: Parisa Taghizadeh/Netflix Releasing on Netflix this fall.
What’s meant to be a relaxing cruise turns deadly in Netflix’s adaptation of The Woman in Cabin 10, starring Keira Knightley. In the film, based on Ruth Ware’s bestseller, a journalist (Knightley) witnesses a passenger tossed overboard late one night, only to be told that she must have imagined it, because all passengers are accounted for. Despite not being believed by anyone onboard, she sets out to prove what she saw was real, even if that means putting herself in danger. The film is directed by Simon Stone, who also co-wrote the script with Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse. Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham and Gugu Mbatha-Raw also star.
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‘Forever’
Image Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images; Andrew Chin/Getty Images Another one of Judy Blume’s beloved stories is getting the adaptation treatment. After Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was adapted for a feature film, Netflix is now set to reimagine Blume’s 1975 novel, Forever, but for a series. The series will follow the love story of two Black teens Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.), young athletes who become each other’s first love, which ultimately impacts them for the rest of their lives. Forever will be set in 2018 Los Angeles. Regina King exec produces and will direct the first episode.
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‘Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’
Image Credit: Peacock Streaming on Peacock since Feb. 13.
In 2013, Helen Fielding’s latest Bridget Jones book was published. The story, which was adapted into a film with Renée Zellweger reprising her role as Jones for the fourth time, finds Jones dealing with loss as she navigates life as a single mother. The film, streaming on Peacock since Feb. 13, is the fourth in the franchise and follows Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016). Mad About the Boy also stars Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall.
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‘Wheel of Time’ Season Three
Image Credit: Jan Thijs/Prime Video Available to stream on Prime Video on March 13.
The fantasy series’ third season premieres March 13 on Prime Video. Based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling epic fantasy book series of the same name, The Wheel of Time follows a farm boy, Rand al’Thor, who learns he is The Dragon Reborn — a dangerous figure from history destined to save the world. After defeating the most powerful of the Forsaken at the end of last season, the third season finds Rand reuniting with his friends in the city of Falme and being declared the Dragon Reborn. However, danger lurks amid threats against the Light. The Wheel of Time, co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, stars Rosamund as Moiraine Damodred, Daniel Henney as al’Lan Mandragoran, Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor and more.
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‘The Residence’
Image Credit: Jessica Brooks/Netflix Available to stream on Netflix on March 20.
Former Scandal writer and executive producer Paul William Davies is the showrunner for a new murder mystery centered around a deadly state dinner, starring Uzo Aduba as detective Cordelia Cupp. In the synopsis the Netflix series is described as “a screwball whodunit set in the upstairs, downstairs and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.” Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp partners with FBI special agent Edwin Park (Randall Park) to untangle the murder mystery. The series is loosely based on former White House correspondent Kate Andersen Brower’s The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House, using the nonfiction book about life inside the White House from staff, as a jumping-off point to the show’s premise.
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‘People We Meet on Vacation’
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images; Kate Green/Getty Images Release date TBA.
Tom Blyth and Emily Bader are set to star in the feature adaptation of one of Emily Henry’s bestsellers People We Meet on Vacation. My Lady Jane star Bader will portray Poppy while The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘ Blyth will star as Alex. The story will follow the longtime best friends who took one week of every summer vacation together. However, things changed when they stopped speaking for two years. When Poppy reaches out and convinces Alex to take one more vacation together, she sees it as her time to fix their broken relationship. But there’s one unspoken truth they have yet to confront: Are they really just friends or is there more to their relationship? Brett Haley is set to direct, with Yulin Kuang adapting the screenplay. Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey and Isaac Klausner will produce. Temple Hill’s Laura Quicksilver and Erin Siminoff are overseeing the project for 3000 Pictures.
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‘The Hunting Wives’
Image Credit: JC Olivera/Getty Images Release date TBA.
Starz will have an eight-episode series adaptation of May Cobb’s The Hunting Wives. Rebecca Cutter wrote the adaptation and will serve as showrunner. The book, published in 2021, centers on Sophie O’Neill, who settles down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. Things change when she meets socialite Margot Banks, who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Tensions escalate and danger lurks after the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, which results in Sophie being in the middle of a murder investigation. Malin Akerman, Brittany Snow, Dermot Mulroney and Evan Jonigkeit star in the series with Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray Newman, Katie Lowes and George Ferrier also in the ensemble.
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‘Long Bright River’
Image Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images Available to stream on Peacock on March 13.
Amanda Seyfried stars in the series adaptation of Liz Moore’s bestseller, as a Philadelphia cop who patrols a neighborhood hit by the opioid crisis. When a series of murders takes place in the area, Seyfried’s Mickey begins to suspect her personal history may tie her to the case. Nikki Toscano is the showrunner while Cobb and Toscano wrote the series. In addition to starring, Seyfried also executive produces. Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Amanda Lewis also exec produce via Original Film, while Amy Pascal will executive produce via Pascal Pictures. Sony Pictures Television and UCP produce the series.
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‘Regretting You’
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Release date TBA.
After the adaptation of her bestseller It Ends With Us — and lingering drama that has followed in real life — another one of Colleen Hoover’s bestsellers is also getting the adaptation treatment. Her 2019 novel Regretting You will get an indie adaptation from Constantin Film, with The Fault in Our Stars filmmaker Josh Boone directing. The story follows the complex relationship between a mother and daughter, Morgan and Clara, with “warring personalities and conflicting goals.” However, they are forced to navigate the consequences after Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father dies in a questionable accident. Allison Williams, McKenna Grace and Dave Franco star in the film, the screenplay for which was written by Susan McMartin.
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‘The Running Man’
Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Release date TBA.
Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Josh Brolin, Katy O’Brian, Lee Pace, Michael Cera and Emilia Jones star in Paramount’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 story with Edgar Wright directing. The novel, which was written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman at the time, is coincidentally set in 2025 but in an America that’s under a totalitarian regime where violent game shows are used to placate the disenfranchised masses. The story centers on Ben Richards (to be played by Powell) who joins the most popular show, The Running Man, in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, Richards will break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.
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‘Mickey 17’
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures Releasing in theaters on March 7.
Following his Oscar-winning film Parasite, director Bong Joon Ho has adapted Mickey 17, based on Edward Ashton’s novel of the same. The film follows Mickey 7, a space colonist known as an expendable — those who do the colony’s most dangerous work and often die in the process, only to be brought back to life through human printing technology. Bong debuted the first trailer for the film at CinemaCon, describing the story as being about “a simple man who ultimately ends up saving the world.” The film will star Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes. The actor plays two characters — Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. Pattinson described Mickey 17 as beaten down by life but is happy to be part of a team, while 18 is more like “playing an evil brother” who is “out of control.”
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‘Wicked: For Good’
Image Credit: Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Releasing in theaters on Nov. 21.
The first part of the Jon M. Chu-directed film based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book, which was conceived as a renowned stage musical, was released last year. But in 2025, audiences will get to see Ariana Grande’s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba return in Wicked: For Good. Marc Platt and David Stone, who produce the film, brought Wicked to the stage when it debuted in 2003. Wicked has become the No. 2 highest-grossing Broadway show of all time, behind The Lion King. Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Keala Settle, Bronwyn James, Adam James and Bowen Yang also star in the film alongside Grande and Erivo. Loosely based on author Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked tells the story of The Wizard of Oz’s characters before Dorothy’s arrival.
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‘Frankenstein’
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Releasing on Netflix in November.
Jacob Elordi stars in Guillermo Del Toro‘s Frankenstein adaption at Netflix based on Mary Shelley’s classic. Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac, Christopher Waltz and Felix Kammerer also star. Isaac will portray Victor Frankenstein while Jacob Elordi will star as Frankenstein’s monster. Frankenstein marks Del Toro’s second feature for Netflix, following his Pinocchio adaption, for which he won the Oscar for best animated feature at the 2023 ceremony.
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‘Kill Your Darlings’
Image Credit: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images; Mike Coppola/Getty Images Release date TBA.
Though it will be some time until the adaptation of Peter Swanson’s Kill Your Darlings will hit the screen, a big A-lister is already attached to the murder mystery. Julia Roberts will team with James Gray for a film adaptation of Swanson’s forthcoming novel releasing in June. Roberts will produce with partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill through their Red Om Films banner, as well as Tribeca Studios’ Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh. Scott Stuber and partner Nick Nesbitt are also producing. The story centers on Tom and Wendy Graves, a couple married for over 25 years who appear to have a picture-perfect life, but beneath the surface, they harbor a shocking secret.
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‘My Fault’
Image Credit: Amazon MGM Studios Streaming on Prime Video.
Originally adapted in Spain as Culpa Mia starring Nicole Wallace and Gabriel Guevara, Prime also released a U.K. version of Mercedes Ron’s My Fault YA romance trilogy with My Fault: London. The story centers on teen Noah, who moves from America to London with her mother and wealthy stepfather. After meeting her stepbrother, an attraction ignites. Meanwhile, Noah’s estranged abusive father also becomes a threat when he tracks her down after being released from prison. Asha Banks and Matthew Broome star.
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‘Maxton Hall’
Image Credit: Prime Video Season two premiering on Prime Video later this year.
Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damian Hardung lead the adaptation of Mona Kasten’s German Maxton Hall series, Save Me, Save You and Save Us. Following season one’s premiere last year on Prime, Maxton Hall: The World Between Us became an international hit with the books set to be published in English for the first time and release this year. The story centers on scholarship student Ruby and James, a wealthy heir, navigating an unexpected attraction and love while dealing with school and family dynamics.
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‘Deep Cuts’
Image Credit: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/Getty Images Release date TBA.
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan will star in the adaptation of Holly Brickley’s Deep Cuts. The book, which was published this year, centers on Percy Marks and Joe Morrow whose relationship endures its ebbs and flows with the two finding connection through music. Set in the 2000s, the story ignites after one night when Percy gives aspiring songwriter Joe feedback on one of his songs. According to the novel’s synopsis, “The results kick off a partnership that will span years, ignite new passions in them both and crush their egos again and again. Is their collaboration worth its cost? Or is it holding Percy back from finding her own voice?” Director Sean Durkin is reportedly attached to adapt and direct the A24 film.
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‘The Five-Star Weekend’
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Daily Front Row Release date TBA.
Jennifer Garner is starring in and exec producing the drama The Five-Star Weekend, set to stream on Peacock. The UCP series will adapt Elin Hilderbrand’s novel of the same name, with Bekah Brunstetter creating, writing and also executive producing. Garner will star as Hollis Shaw, a famed food influencer who suffers a devastating loss. To find herself again, she hosts a weekend away at her house on Nantucket with three friends from different stages in her life. However, despite being set against a luxurious and coastal backdrop, the friends endure pushed boundaries and exposed secrets.
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‘Little House on the Prairie’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Release date TBA.
A childhood classic is getting the reboot treatment. Netflix announced that it will release a reboot series adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. More than 40 years after a long-running adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved books aired its last episode on NBC, a new version is coming from showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine. According to Netflix, its new take on Little House will be “part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale and part origin story of the American West” that will serve up a “kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.”
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‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’
Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/WireImage Release date TBA.
Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman lead the Apple TV+ series adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s bestseller Margot’s Got Money Troubles. Fanning portrays “the daughter of a Hooters waitress and former pro wrestler,” per the show’s logline. “After having an affair with her junior college English professor, she gets pregnant and turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet. After reuniting with her estranged father, who imparts advice he learned in the wrestling ring, Margo becomes a runaway success on OnlyFans.” David E. Kelley is the showrunner and will also executive produce via his eponymous production company, along with Elle and Dakota Fanning and Brittany Kahan Ward of Lewellen Pictures; Kidman and Per Saari of Blossom Films; Matthew Tinker of David E. Kelley Productions; and Pfeiffer, Thorpe and Eva Anderson.
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‘Lucky’
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD/Getty Images Release date TBA.
Anya Taylor-Joy is set to play the lead role in the Apple TV+ series adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s best-selling novel Lucky. The limited series, on which Taylor-Joy (Furiosa, The Queen’s Gambit) will also be an executive producer, comes from Apple Studios and Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine (the novel was a Reese’s Book Club selection in 2021). Jonathan Tropper is the series creator and will serve as co-showrunner with Cassie Pappas. Drew Starkey also stars in the series which will follow a young woman, raised in a life of crime, that has to embrace her darker, criminal side to escape the past she originally left behind.
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‘Verity’
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images Release date TBA.
After teaming on the Idea of You adaptation, Anne Hathaway and Michael Showalter are collaborating on a film version of Colleen Hoover’s Verity novel. Nick Antosca wrote the current script following the previous work of scribes Hillary Seitz, Angela LaManna and the team of Will Honley and April Maguire. Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett will star alongside Hathaway. The story centers on struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who is hired by Jeremy Crawford to complete the remaining books in a series penned by his wife, author Verity Crawford (Hathaway), who has suffered a mysterious accident. Lowen soon learns that a secret unfinished manuscript may reveal clues about the family’s past. Another Hoover book, Regretting You, has an indie adaptation in the works with stars Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco and Mason Thames.
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‘Enigma Variations’
Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/WireImage Release date TBA.
The Bear star Jeremy Allen White is set to lead Netflix’s forthcoming limited series Enigma Variations. The series will be an adaptation of the novel by André Aciman, who also wrote Call Me By Your Name which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film. The 2017 book is described as a story that “charts the life of a man named Paul, whose loves remain as consuming and as covetous throughout his adulthood as they were in his adolescence … Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient and forever underwritten by raw desire.” Amanda Kate Shuman is reportedly attached to serve as writer, executive producer and showrunner, with Oliver Hermanus set to direct and executive produce. White and Aciman will exec produce, with Media Res producing.
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