Read It First: 14 New Adaptations Based on Books
Movie and television studios continue to plumb the depths of literature for ideas to adapt for the screen. But we're not complaining! Recent and upcoming releases include Jane Austen's continually overshadowed romantic novel Persuasion, a charming historical comedy based on a near-forgotten 1958 novel, a regency-era romance for anyone missing Bridgerton, a thriller with an assassin on the run, a thriller with an army intelligence officer on the run, the coming of age novel that was on NYPL's Top Checkouts lists for 2019, 2020, and 2021 and much, much more.
Take a look below—you're sure to find a great read (before or after you watch).
This is Going to Hurt (available now, AMC+ and Sundance Now)
Cast includes: Ben Whishaw, Dame Harriet Walter, Alex Jennings, Ambika Mod, Michele Austin, Kadiff Kirwan Rory Fleck Byrne
Based on the memoir This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident by Adam Kay
Welcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions. Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships. Welcome to the life of a first-year doctor.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (June 17, Amazon Prime)
Cast includes Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno
Based on the YA novel The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Belly measures her life in summers. Winters are simply away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.
Where the Crawdads Sing (July 15, in theaters)
Cast includes: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer, Jr., David Strathairn
Based on the novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Viewed with suspicion in the aftermath of a murder, Kya Clark, who has survived alone for years in a marsh near the North Carolina coast, becomes targeted by unthinkable forces.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (July 15, in theaters)
Cast includes Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Alba Baptista, Anna Chancellor, Lucas Bravo, Lambert Wilson
Based on the novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico
This treasure from the 1950s introduces the irrepressible Mrs Harris, part charlady, part fairy-godmother, whose adventures take her from her humble London roots to the heights of glamour.
The Old Man (June 16, FX and Hulu)
Cast includes: Jeff Bridges, Amy Brenneman, John Lithgow, Pej Vahdat, Noor Razooky
Based on the novel The Old Man by Thomas Perry
Decades after taking millions of dollars during a mission in Libya and starting over in Vermont under a new name, former Army intelligence offer Dan Chase is forced back on the run after eluding two attackers with an interest in obtaining the loot.
Ms. Marvel (available now, Disney+)
Cast includes: Iman Vellani, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz
Based on the Ms. Marvel comics written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona
Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City—until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she also unlocks a secret behind them. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her prove too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, Jersey!
The Gray Man (July 15, in theaters / July 22, Netflix)
Cast includes: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Regé-Jean Page
Based on the novel The Gray Man by Mark Greaney
When legendary covert agent and assassin Court Gentry, aka the The Gray Man, is no longer considered useful, he must prove that, for him, there is no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive.
Persuasion (July 15, Netflix)
Cast includes Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Richard Grant, Nikki Amuka-Bird
Based on the novel Persuasion by Jane Austen
The romance between Captain Wentworth and Anne, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, is doomed because of the young man's family connections and lack of wealth, until he makes his fortune at sea and returns to claim her as his wife.
Along for the Ride (available now, Netflix)
Cast includes Emma Pasarow, Belmont Cameli, Andi McDowell, Kate Boswell, Dermot Mulroney, Laura Kariuki
Based on the YA novel Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
When Auden goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents' divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having fun new experiences.
Black Bird (July 8, Apple TV+)
Cast includes: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi, Ray Liotta
Inspired by true events and based on the book In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin
Traces the story of a once-promising football athlete and imprisoned drug dealer who was offered his freedom in exchange for coaxing a confession out of a serial killer, an effort for which he risked his life and sparked heated controversy.
Mr. Malcolm's List (July 1, in theaters)
Cast includes Ṣọpẹ Dìrís, Zawe Ashton, Freida Pinto, Theo James, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Based on the romance novel Mr. Malcolm's List by Suzanne Allain
A well-to-do bachelor who would avoid matchmaking mothers and fortune hunters in favor of a “perfect” wife meets his match in a high-society misfit who reluctantly participates in a friend’s plot for revenge.
Dark Winds (June 12, AMC/AMC+)
Cast includes: Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, Deanna Allison, Rainn Wilson, Elva Guerra, Jeremiah Bitsui, Eugene Brave Rock, Noah Emmerich
Based on the Leaphorn and Chee mysteries by Tony Hillerman and Anne Hillerman
Witchcraft appears to be involved in the death of an Indian whose body was found in Many Ruins Canyon, and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is charged with the task of solving the crime. (Book 1: The Blessing Way)
The Lincoln Lawyer (available now, Netflix)
Cast includes: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, Christopher Gorham
Based on The Brass Verdict, book two of the Mickey Haller series by Michael Connelly
Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.
Bullet Train (August 5, in theaters)
Cast includes: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio
Based on the novel Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka; translated from the Japanese by Sam Malissa
Lady Bird, an unlucky assassin, is tasked with grabbing a suitcase from a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka and exiting at the next stop, but doesn’t realize other dangerous passengers are trying to do the same.
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Book summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.