Book Adaptations Coming in 2020
Hollywood loves a remake. We love books. And while I’m obviously an advocate for original scripts and movies, I do love an adaptation coming to life on the big (or small) screen. I’m thrilled to witness what my imagination conjured up while reading a great book play out in front of me. Sometimes they get it right. Sometimes it’s a huge miss. But, I mean, we wouldn’t have The Princess Bride without them, right?
I’m definitely looking forward to these movie and TV book adaptations coming out in 2020 and loving how many classics made the cut. Here’s hoping they don’t screw them up. Make sure you read (or reread) the book first so you’ll be able to argue with your friends all snobby and knowledgeable (like that guy who read Faulkner) if it was better than the movie.
The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Octavia Spencer, Selena Gomez
Together with Jip the Dog, Polynesia the Parrot, and 9-year-old Tommy Stubbins, the good doctor sets off in search of a missing colleague. This Newbery Medal–winning adventure recounts the hunt for Long Arrow, the world's greatest naturalist, in treks that range from the Mediterranean and South America to the bottom of the sea. Thanks to the doctor's gift for conversing with animals, the travelers find a solution to every challenge, including a curious encounter with a sea monster and a shipwreck on a mysterious island.
Grab the book from Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited and Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters now.
The Outsider by Stephen King
Starring: Yul Vazquez, Ben Mendelsohn, Jeremy Bobb
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens—Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King’s story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. Series on HBO.
The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector)
Starring: Russell Hornsby, Arielle Kebbel, Roslyn Ruff
Lincoln Rhyme was once a brilliant criminologist, a genius in the field of forensics—until an accident left him physically and emotionally shattered. But now a diabolical killer is challenging Rhyme to a terrifying and ingenious duel of wits. With police detective Amelia Sachs by his side, Rhyme must follow a labyrinth of clues that reaches back to a dark chapter in New York City’s past—and reach further into the darkness of the mind of a madman who won’t stop until he has stripped life down to the bone.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. Series on NBC.
The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell
Starring: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown
Stephanie Patrick is devastated after her whole family dies in a plane crash. But when she discovers that the downing of flight NE027 wasn’t an accident but an act of terrorism, Stephanie enters the fight of her life to achieve her one goal: revenge.
When she’s recruited by a covert intelligence organization, Stephanie sees a means to an end. Now, with nothing and no one left to lose, Stephanie undergoes rigorous training to become “Petra,” a mercenary terrorist based out of Germany, and “Marina,” an international businesswoman based in London. Her immersion into the world of international espionage teaches Stephanie how to numb her feelings and act on instinct alone. But as her missions become more brutal, and the stakes grow ever higher, she begins to question everything she knows about flight NEO027. Is her organization telling her the truth about what really happened? Is avenging her family worth the risk of her own life? And if it isn’t, will those who created her ever let her go?
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters now.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (The Turning)
Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklyn Prince
By the comforts of a blazing fireplace on a cold Christmas Eve night, guests at a holiday party share stories of phantoms and ghosts of Christmases past. Yet one guest delivers a tale of sheer fright for which no one listening was prepared. As the story goes, after losing both parents, a young boy and girl move into a large wooded estate to be held under the care of their uncle. Wanting nothing to do with raising the children, the uncle hires a young governess to attend to their care. Yet the governess never could have anticipated the horrors that await her discovery. When it becomes evident that the children have some supernatural connection with a deceased former governess and her lover, the young governess finds herself scrambling to regain control of two children slipping away from her grasp. Originally published in 1898.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters now.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Keeley Hawes, Kristin Scott Thomas
Previously adapted and won an Academy Award for Best Picture by Alfred Hitchcock.
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again."
With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. Post Production.
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 2)
Starring: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Jordan Fisher
Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren't. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?
In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times best seller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that's part of what makes it so amazing.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. Netflix.
Emma by Jane Austen
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy
Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a 'heroine whom no one but myself will much like', but Emma is irresistible. 'Handsome, clever, and rich', Emma is also an 'imaginist', 'on fire with speculation and foresight'. She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective. Judgement and imagination are matched in games the reader too can enjoy, and the end is a triumph of understanding.
Grab this classic from Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited, or at IndieBound. In theaters February 21.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Gillam, Dan Stevens, Wes Brown, and a very good boy
‘Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and . . . he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire, and to plunge into the forest.’
Half St. Bernard, half sheepdog, Buck is stolen away from his comfortable life as a pet in California and sold to dog traders. He soon finds himself aboard a ship, on its way to Northern Canada. Surrounded by cruelty, Buck’s natural instincts and behaviour begin to emerge as he works as a mail carrying sled dog, scavenging for food, protecting himself against other dogs and sleeping out in the cold snow.
Sold to a group of American gold hunters who are inexperienced living in the wilderness, the dogs are treated badly and as misfortune besets them, Buck is saved by John Thornton. Indebted to his new master, Buck remains by Thornton’s side, saving him from drowning and protecting him with fierce loyalty throughout their time together. However, Buck can not deny the strong lure of the wilderness around him.
Exciting and action-packed, Call of the Wild explores the timeless relationship between man and dog, and the inevitable draw of primitive instincts that pull Buck away from civilization and humanity towards the lawless and harsh wilderness.
Grab this classic from Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited and Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters February 21.
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Starring: Elizabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge
On a bitter evening in the depths of winter, a mysterious stranger arrives to the remote English village of Iping, his face swaddled in bandages…
Published in 1897, The Invisible Man tells the tale of Griffin, a scientist who has found a way to make himself invisible. To his anger and dismay, however, the experiment appears irreversible. Freed from the constraints of the law and rejected by a society that fears him, Griffin descends into brutality. Wells' disturbing and insightful novel explores the question of morality when a man is free to do as he pleases without risk of being caught...
Grab this classic from Amazon, free on Kindle and Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters February 28.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Starring: Elle Fanning, Justice Smith, Alexandra Shipp, Luke Wilson
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. Every day he thinks of ways he might kill himself, but every day he also searches for—and manages to find—something to keep him here, and alive, and awake.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her small Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school—six stories above the ground— it’s unclear who saves whom. Soon it’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. . .
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle and Audible, or at IndieBound. On Netflix February 28.
The Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler (Council of Dads)
Starring: Colton Langan, Summer Ertel, Kevin Daniels
A life-changing portrait of a group of friends who offer wisdom, humor, and guidance for how to live our lives with meaning and joy. Faced with one of life’s greatest challenges, New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler reached out to six men who helped shape him and asked each one for a piece of advice for his daughters: how to live, how to travel, how to question, how to dream.
Feiler gathered their life lessons, along with a few of his own—“Always Learn to Juggle on the Side of a Hill,” “Hug the Monster,” “Take a Walk with a Turtle”—into a heartwarming, deeply enriching book that has inspired readers everywhere to start their own Councils of Moms or Dads. Full of warmth and wisdom, The Council of Dads is a singular story that offers lessons for us all—helping us draw closer to our friends, be more resourceful as parents, and celebrate what’s important in our lives.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle and Audible, or at IndieBound. On NBC March 10.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. Miniseries on Hulu, March 18.
I Know This Much is True: A Novel (P.S.) by Wally Lamb
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Melissa Leo, Rosie O’Donnell, Imogen Poots, Juliette Lewis
On the afternoon of October 12, 1990, my twin brother, Thomas, entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut, public library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemed acceptable. . . .
One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. On HBO in April.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Starring: Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth, Julie Walters
When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle's great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly one hundred rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors.
The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary's only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. With the help of two unexpected companions, Mary discovers a way in—and becomes determined to bring the garden back to life.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters April 17.
The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester (Greyhound)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Shue, Stephen Graham
The mission of Commander George Krause of the United States Navy is to protect a convoy of thirty-seven merchant ships making their way across the icy North Atlantic from America to England. There, they will deliver desperately needed supplies, but only if they can make it through the wolfpack of German submarines that awaits and outnumbers them in the perilous seas. For forty eight hours, Krause will play a desperate cat and mouse game against the submarines, combating exhaustion, hunger, and thirst to protect fifty million dollars' worth of cargo and the lives of three thousand men. Acclaimed as one of the best novels of the year upon publication in 1955, The Good Shepherd is a riveting classic of WWII and naval warfare from one of the 20th century's masters of sea stories.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle, or at IndieBound. In theaters May 8.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Starring: Amy Adams,
It isn’t paranoia if it’s really happening . . .
Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters May 15.
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Eliza Scanlen
Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his “prayer log.” There’s Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters May 15.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Starring: Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Miranda Raison, Ferdia Shaw
Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous--and extremely high-tech--fairies. He kidnaps one of them, Holly Short, and holds her for ransom in an effort to restore his family's fortune. But he may have underestimated the fairies' powers. Is he about to trigger a cross-species war?
Grab it from Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited, Audible or at IndieBound. Expected in theaters May 29.
The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz (Infinite)
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Mantzoukas
Discovered as three notebooks in an antique store in Rome at the turn of the millennium, Infinite, previously published as The Reincarnationist Papers, offers a tantalizing glimpse into the Cognomina, a secret society of people who possess total recall of their past lives.
Evan Michaels struggles with being different, with having the complete memories of two other people who lived sequentially before him. He fights loneliness and believes he is unique until he meets Poppy. She recognizes his struggle because she is like him, except that she is much older, remembering seven consecutive lives. But there is something else she must share with Evan—she is a member of the secretive Cognomina. They are, in effect, immortals—compiling experiences and skills over lifetimes into near superhuman abilities that they have used to drive history over centuries.
Poppy invites Evan into the Cognomina, but he must face their tests before entering this mysterious society as their equal.
Grab the book from Amazon (TBR) or for Kindle (release date: July 21). In theaters August 7.
Without Remorse by Tom Clancy
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Cam Gigandet
His code name is Mr. Clark. His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded and efficient...But who is he really?
In a harrowing tour de force, Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend, Mr. Clark.
It is an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness. Without mercy. Without guilt. Without remorse.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters September 18.
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman, Arnie Hammer, Annette Bening, Letitia Wright
Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on a journey to Egypt in one of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Death on the Nile.
The tranquility of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl who had everything . . . until she lost her life.
Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: "I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger." Yet in this exotic setting nothing is ever quite what it seems.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters October 9.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for....
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
Grab this classic from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters December 18.
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Starring: Tom Hanks, Neil Sandilands, Thomas Francis Murphy
It is 1870 and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.
In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna's parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the US army, the 10-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.
Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act "civilized." Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forging a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.
Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember - strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become - in the eyes of the law - a kidnapper himself.
Grab the book from Amazon, for Kindle or Audible, or at IndieBound. In theaters December 25.
*All Synopses from publisher/author/Amazon
