Is the book always better than the movie or TV show? Better read these soon-to-be adaptations ASAP so you can decide.
Lady in the Lake
By Laura Lippman
July 19, 2024
Laura Lippman’s acclaimed 1960s-set mystery will get the prestige miniseries treatment on Apple TV+ later this month, starring Natalie Portman (who also serves as executive producer on the series) and The Queen’s Gambit and Obi-Wan Kenobi scene-stealer Moses Ingram.
Starve Acre
By Andrew Michael Hurley
July 26, 2024
A haunting horror novel that derives much of its power from British folklore and the eerie beauty of the island’s countryside, Starve Acre couldn’t ask for a better leading lady to star in its upcoming film adaptation than Morfydd Clark. Before she nabbed the role of the young Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Clark broke out with her incredible, chilling performance in Saint Maud, Rose Glass’ acclaimed horror debut.
Harold and the Purple Crayon
By Crockett Johnson
August 2, 2024
Hollywood has attempted to make a big screen adaptation of Crockett Johnson’s classic picture book for decades, and after years of development hell, a film will finally be released later this year—but there’s a twist. Rather than straightforwardly adapt the original story, the film will follow an adult version of Howard played by Zachary Levi who has escaped the pages of his book and encounters the real world for the first time.
It Ends With Us
By Colleen Hoover
August 9, 2024
Hoover is one of the biggest names in the romance genre. In 2022, her novel It Ends With Us topped the New York Times bestseller list and the Publishers Weekly adult list for months. Now, the fan-favorite book will be hitting theaters as a movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Despite some push backs in the shooting schedule due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the film is confirmed for release on August 9, 2024. Read our interview with Colleen Hoover for the sequel, It Starts with Us.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
By Edward Kelsey Moore
August 23, 2024
Even if Edward Kelsey Moore’s debut hadn’t been so beloved by audiences when it was published in 2013, the upcoming Hulu film adaptation would still be cause for celebration based on its cast alone. Sanaa Lathan, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Uzo Aduba will play the central trio, whose friendship serves as the backbone of their lives in Plainview, Indiana, over 40 years.
Spook Street
By Mick Herron
September 4, 2024
Slow Horses, the superb adaptation of Slough House, Mick Herron’s equally superb series of espionage novels, will continue over on Apple TV+ this fall with its fourth season, which will adapt the events of Spook Street. That book sees series mainstay River Cartwright facing his most personal challenge yet, when his beloved grandfather, legendary spy David Cartwright, begins to show signs of dementia. David is played by the magisterial Jonathan Pryce on the show, which means that viewers are most likely in for a tearjerking masterclass in acting.
The Wild Robot
By Peter Brown
September 27, 2024
Author-illustrator Peter Brown’s much-loved chapter book debut will come to the big screen with an absolutely incredible cast in tow: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Kit Connor and Ving Rhames will all lend their distinctive voices to the animals lonely robot Roz encounters as she explores the remote island she mysteriously crashed on. But we’re personally most excited to see who voice-acting royalty Mark Hamill will be playing, as well as which lucky character will possess the dulcet tones of Matt Berry, the mellifluous comedy genius responsible for gems such as these.
The Marlow Murder Club
By Robert Thorogood
October 27, 2024
Ever since Richard Osman released The Thursday Murder Club, readers have been inundated with similarly quirky, gentle mysteries starring older sleuths. It should surprise absolutely no one that the British absolutely rose to the occasion (unsurprising given their long history of producing lovable sleuths like Miss Marple, Aunt Dimity and Agatha Raisin), and have produced the greatest challengers to Osman’s throne. Robert Thorogood’s Marlow Murder Club series is one of the chief contenders, and a TV adaptation of the books will air this fall as part of PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery! slate. Read our review of Death Comes to Marlow, the second book in the series.
Wicked
By Gregory Maguire
November 22, 2024
Seemingly in production ever since the original book was published, let alone the generation-defining musical, the Wicked film adaptation will finally hit the big screen after years of casting rumors and false starts. Musicals are a tricky prospect for audiences these days: For every La La Land or Les Misérables, there’s a Dear Evan Hansen or, god forbid, a Cats. But Wicked has assembled a truly impressive cast (Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey are truly perfect picks for Elphaba and Fiyero, and Ariana Grande as Glinda is certainly intriguing, possibly even promising), and Jon M. Chu is one of the only directors in Hollywood who actually understands how to shoot musical numbers so . . . it might just work?
