Every year, a large number of books are adapted for the big screen, which excites not only moviegoers but also readers of the books as well. The year 2022 has been successful for both book nerds and cinephiles, with many successful adaptations praised by both critics and fans, such asHouse of the Dragon,The Black Phone,The School for Good and Evil, andMy Policeman.
RELATED:10 Successful Movie & TV Adaptations Deemed Impossible: From ‘Dune’ to ‘Game of Thrones’
The upcoming year of 2023 already appears to be a turning point for the movie industry, with so many highly anticipated movies being adapted from books, ranging from classic sci-fi novels to Pulitzer Prize-winning novels.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesis an upcoming science fiction action filmdirected byFrancis Lawrenceand based on the 2020 novel of the same name bySuzanne Collins. It’s the fifth overall installment in the franchise and a prequel toThe Hunger Gamesmovie series.
The movie will follow a young Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem, as he mentors a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, which serves as the foundation for his autocratic rule. The film’s cast is reported to includeTom Blythas Snow,Rachel Zegler,Hunter Schafer,Jason Schwartzman,Burn Gorman,Peter Dinklage, andViola Davis. It is scheduled to debut in theaters on August 21, 2025.
‘Dune: Part Two’
Dune: Part Twois an upcoming epic science-fiction film directed byDenis Villeneuvethat serves as a direct sequel to the 2021 movie. It’s the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1965Frank Herbertnovel of the same name and will essentially cover the book’s second half.
RELATED:‘Dune’ Spin-Off Series Adds Sarah-Sofie Boussnina and More
The 2023 film will continue whereDune: Part Oneleft off, following Paul Atreides' (Timothée Chalamet) ascent to power and his subsequent uprising against Emperor Shaddam IV. Chalamet,Zendaya,Rebecca Ferguson,andJavier Bardemwill reprise their roles alongside new additions, includingFlorence PughandAustin Butler.The eagerly awaited sequel is scheduled to hit theaters on August 27, 2025.
‘‘Salem’s Lot’
Salem’s Lotis an upcoming supernatural horror film written and directed byGary Daubermanand based onStephen King’s 1975 novel of the same name. The movie will follow Ben Mears as he visits Jerusalem’s Lot, also known as ‘Salem’s Lot, for the first time in 25 years to find inspiration for his upcoming book, but only to discover the presence of a vampire.
Warner Bros. Pictures was originally planned to releaseSalem’s Loton September 9th, 2022; however, it has lately been postponed until April 21st, 2023. The rising actorLewis Pullmanwill take the role of Ben Mears along withMakenzie Leigh,Alfre Woodard,John Benjamin Hickey,Bill Camp,Jordan Preston Carter, andPilou Asbæk.
‘Oppenheimer’
The upcoming biopicOppenheimer, written and directed byChristopher Nolan, starsCillian MurphyasJ. Robert Oppenheimer,an American theoretical physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb"for his work on the Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The biographyAmerican PrometheusbyKai BirdandMartin J. Sherwinserved as the inspiration for the movie.
The U.S. premiere ofOppenheimeris set for July 08, 2025, by Universal Pictures. Murphy’s joined byEmily Bluntas wifeKatherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer,Matt Damon,Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh.
‘The Nightingale’
The Nightingaleis an upcoming drama movie directed byMélanie Laurentand based on the 2015 novel of the same name byKristin Hannah. The film will center on the two sisters striving to endure and fend off the German occupation of France during World War II. The tale ofAndrée de Jongh, a Belgian woman who assisted downed Allied airmen in escaping Nazi territory, was the story’s inspiration.
The movie will mark the first on-screen collaboration of the real-life sisters,Dakota and Elle Fanning,as Vianne and Isabelle, respectively. Over the previous two years, there have been numerous notable delays in the delivery date of The Nightingale. The movie will be released in 2023 on an announced date.
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Killers of the Flower Moonis an upcoming Western crime drama film directed byMartin Scorseseand based onDavid Grann’s best-selling 2017 non-fiction bookKillers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The movie will cover approximately sixty Osage Indian tribe members targeted for murder between 1921 and 1925.
Robert de NiroandLeonardo DiCaprio, who have been Scorsese’s longtime inspiration and colleagues in numerous films, were among the recognizable faces he brought on board when he agreed to direct the movie.Jesse Plemons,Lily Gladstone, andBrendan Fraserare also added to the cast.It is anticipated to be released in May 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival.
‘A Haunting in Venice’
The upcomingKenneth Branaghmystery thrillerA Haunting in Veniceis based onAgatha Christie’sHallowe’en Partyand a sequel toMurder on the Orient ExpressandDeath on the Nile. The movie will continue to follow the adventures of detective Hercule Poirot as he arrives in Venice, with Branagh reprising the role.
The announced cast includesJamie Dornan,Tina Fey,Michelle Yeoh,Jude Hill, andKelly Reilly, along withEmma Laird,Kyle Allen,Camille Cottin,Ali Khan, andRiccardo Scamarico. The movie is set to be widely released on August 08, 2025.
‘The Color Purple’
The Color Purpleis aBlitz Bazawule-directed musical coming-of-age period drama film adapted for the big screen from the 2005 stage production of the same name, which was based onAlice Walker’s 1982 same-name Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. AfterSteven Spielberg’s 1985 film adaptation, this is the novel’s second adaptation for the screen.
The film will revolve around Black women who struggle through unimaginable misery and eventually triumph despite a never-ending cycle of abuse while living in the rural South in the early 20th century. The promising cast includesTaraji P. Henson,David Alan Grier,Halle Bailey,Elizabeth Marvel,Colman Domingo, andDanielle Brooks. The movie is slated to debut on June 01, 2025.
‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaretis an upcoming comedy-drama film written and directed byKelly Fremon Craig, based onJudy Blume’s 1970 novel of the same name. The movie will centers on Sixth-grader Margaret Simon and her family as they move from New York City to the suburbs of New Jersey. She sets out to find her religious identity because one of her parents is Christian, and the other is Jewish.
RELATED:Rachel McAdams’ Essential Performances from ‘The Notebook’ to ‘Eurovision’
The cast includesRachel McAdamsas Margaret’s mother, Barbara Simon,Abby Ryder Fortsonas Margaret, andKathy Batesas Margaret’s grandmother, Sylvia. The highly anticipated movie is scheduled for its theatrical release on July 28, 2025.
‘True Haunting’
True Hauntingis an upcoming horror movie directed byGary Flederand based on the 2011 novel of the same name byEdwin F. Becker. The film will chronicle the story of Ed and Marsha Becker, a young couple who move into a new home and shortly learn that it is haunted. The Beckers’ paranormal encounter rapidly made headlines around the country after their house served as the setting for the first-ever nationally televised exorcism.
The Boys’Erin MoriartyandStranger Things’Jamie Campbell Bowerare cast as the Beckers couple, along withHarriet Slater,Emma Gojkovic,Leonardo Taiwo, andIan Shaw.True Hauntingis expected to release on June 10, 2025.
