From classics like The Godfather and Jaws to modern marvels like The Notebook, Game of Thrones, and Crazy Rich Asians, many of history’s greatest films and TV shows began as novels. A well-written book provides the ultimate Hollywood source material, with complex characters and an engrossing plot that, when read, already plays like a movie in your head.
Here are some much-anticipated book-to-screen adaptations slated for 2024.
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
When Maya tunes into her toddler’s nanny cam, she sees her 2-year-old playing with her husband. There’s just one problem: her husband was murdered just weeks earlier. Following the successful 2020 adaptation of another Coben bestseller, The Stranger, this thriller premieres as a Netflix mini series January 21.
The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee
Janice Y. K. Lee’s atmospheric novel follows three transplanted women living in Hong Kong who form a tight bond amidst personal turmoil. Amazon is adapting Lee’s novel into a six-part series, simply titled Expats, starring Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo. The first episode premieres January 26.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Romance novelist Colleen Hoover has a long list of bestsellers under her belt, and 2016’s It Ends With Us is perhaps her most well-known. Based on the relationship between Hoover’s parents, the book deals with generational domestic violence as a woman navigates her marriage while coming to terms with her childhood. Justin Baldoni (you might recognize him from Jane the Virgin) is directing, producing, and starring in the film adaptation alongside Blake Lively, Jenny Slate, and Brandon Sklenar. Find it in theaters February 9.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune premiered to critical acclaim and took home six Academy Awards—a huge accomplishment for any film, but especially one that juggles the vast worlds, complex lore, and cult following of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction epic. More than two years after the first film, Dune: Part Two comes to theaters March 1 with an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler.
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
The Three-Body Problem begins during China’s Cultural Revolution, with a top-secret military project called Red Coast. The objective is simple: to contact extraterrestrial life. But the project has unexpected and long-lasting ramifications spanning generations, worlds, and realities. 3 Body Problem, as Netflix is styling the show, streams March 21.
The Watchers by A.M. Shine
When her car breaks down in a dark forest, Mina finds herself trapped in a bunker, surrounded by strangers and under siege by mysterious creatures. The Watchers is a crawl-out-of-your-skin supernatural tale, and horror fans have good reason to be excited about the upcoming adaptation—the film is the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan (daughter of thriller legend M. Night Shyamalan) and stars Georgina Campbell (from Barbarian fame). It’s scheduled for a June 7 release.
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippmann
When a Black woman’s body is found in a lake in 1960s Baltimore, she barely makes headlines. This motivates Maddie, a housewife-turned-newspaper reporter, to dig into the woman’s life and uncover what happened to her. A mini series based on the mystery is coming to Apple TV with Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram leading the project.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Before Idina Menzel belted “Defying Gravity” and Kristin Chenoweth bopped along to “Popular,” Gregory Maguire’s fantasy novel revealed the Wicked Witch of the West isn’t as one-dimensional as she may have appeared in The Wizard of Oz. The Wicked book is much darker than the Broadway play and navigates themes of ostracization, propaganda, terrorism. The long-awaited film is set to premiere in November, with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer follows a communist spy from North Vietnam who, after implanting himself in the South Vietnam army, joins other refugees in California in the Vietnam War. Part historical drama, part spy thriller, A24 is adapting the book into an HBO mini series starring Hoa Xuande, with Sandrah Oh and Robert Downey Jr. Park Chan-wook (creator of acclaimed films Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Thirst), is directing.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
In the wake of the Russian Revolution, nobleman Count Alexander Rostov is placed under house arrest at a hotel in central Moscow. The novel spans years as Rostov befriends staff, guests, and a one-eyed cat while living out his sentence within the hotel’s walls. A Showtime TV series based on the novel is expected in December, with Ewan McGregor playing Rostov.
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