Novels have been adapted to movies and TV series for a long time. There are plenty of amazing on-screen adaptations, such as Game of Thrones and Queen’s Gambit.
The film industry is saturated with popular and cliche remakes. Hence books are interesting and unique plots waiting to be explored. We tried to make a list of some upcoming book-to-screen adaptations releasing next year.
Cherry (Releasing on February 26)
Anthony and Joe Russo’s upcoming crime drama movie Cherry is based on the same name’s novel. It stars Tom Holland in the role of protagonist alongside Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, Michael Rispoli, Jeff Wahlberg, Forrest Goodluck, and Michael Gandolfini in the supporting role. The movie is scheduled to be released on 26 February 2021 in theatres and 12 March 2021 on Apple TV+.
The plot of the movie follows an Army medic suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). He later becomes addicted to opioids and begins to rob back to meet the need for his addiction.
The movie is based on Nico Walker’s 2018 novel of the same name. It concerns an unnamed soldier during the War in Iraq. The book was published on 14 August 2018 by Alfred A. Knopf. The novel received a positive response from readers as well as from the critics. According to Book Marks, it got 54% approval from critics, and it gave the book a “rave” review.
Writer Walker wrote the book during the imprisonment for bank robbery. He wrote the book over a typewriter over the course of several years.
Dune ( Releasing on October 1)
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is a science fiction movie written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, and Eric Roth. The movie is an adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name written by author Frank Herbert. Alongside Timothée Chalamet in the protagonist, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem are in the supporting role.
The movie’s plot is set in humanity’s future and follows Duke Leto Atreides, who accepts to supervise the dangerous deserted planet, Dune. The planet is also the source of some rare spice that can extend humans’ life expectancy and make them faster than light. However, Leto knows that the opportunity might be a trap; still, he decides to go and is trapped by his enemies.
The novel was adapted several times in the past. David Lynch adapted the book in 1984. Lynch worked on the script for six months with Eric Bergen before starting the production. However, the movie did not justify the quality of the novel and disappoint the viewers. Hence Villeneuve decided to adapt the novel into two-part. Therefore, the first part of the film will consist of only half of the book. Dune is scheduled to be released on 1 October 2021 in IMAX and 3D in the United States as well as on the HBO Max streaming platform.
Chaos Walking (Releasing on January 22)
Doug Liman’s Chaos Walking is a science fiction thriller movie written by Christopher Ford and Patrick Ness. The movie is based on Ness’s 2008 sci-fi trilogy novel The Knife of Never Letting Go. Chaos Walking stars Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia’ Erivo, Nick Jonas, and David Oyelowo.
The movie follows Todd Hewitt (played by Tom Holland). Hewitt discovers Viola (played by Daisy Ridley), who is a mysterious girl who crashes on the eland of Hewitt’s planet. The planet only has men as the women disappeared long ago, and the men are afflicted by “the Noise”- puts all their thoughts on display. The environment is very dangerous, and Viola’s life is threatened, and Todd vows to protect her.
The novel received amazing reviews for its exciting narrative and pure inventiveness. One of The Guardian critics, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, wrote that he liked the opening of the book and added that the rest of the novel was filled with thrill. It has won many awards, including the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, 2008 Guardian Award, and 2008 James Tiptree Jr. Award.
Chaos Walking was originally scheduled to release on 1 March 2019. It underwent reshooting after receiving a poor response from test screening. The film is now rescheduled for the 5 March 2021 release date under Lionsgate.
The Dry (Releasing on January 1)
The Dry is the first movie to hit the cinemas. It is an adaptation of the award-winning novel of the same name written by author Jane Harper. Robert Connolly directed the movie and starred Genevieve O’Reilly, Eric Bana, Keir O’Donnell, Bruce Spence, Matt Nable, Sam Corlett, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, and Claude Scott-Mitchell.
The plot follows a Federal Police agent Aaron Falk returns to the farming community of Kiewarra to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler. The town is hit by severe drought, and Hadler’s family’s death does not surprise the community.
But the vent brings Falk to a realization that the decades’ old murder of young Ellie Deacon is somehow connected with his friend’s death too. So is he right? Or will the story take another turn? The mystery will be solved on New Year’s Day.
The above are a few anticipated adaptations of novels to the big screen fans are impatiently waiting for.
Source: Most Anticipated Book-To-Screen Adaptations of 2021
