The Most Anticipated Book to Screen Adaptations of 2026
From Project Hail Mary to The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, check out the soon-to-be film adaptations of your favorite novels.
In 2026, stories by your favorite authors are coming to life on-screen! From psychological thrillers to slow-burn romances, a whole slew of bestselling novels are being adapted into films and series. The 2026 lineup promises some of the most highly anticipated book-to-screen adaptations yet. Read on to discover which stories you won’t want to miss.
- Recommended: The Best Movies of 2025
- Recommended: The Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
Release Date: February 6, 2026
Director: Harry Lighton
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Harry Melling, Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp
Pillion is a film adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones’s 2020 novel Box Hill, directed by Harry Lighton and starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling. While the book is set in the 1970s, the movie updates the story to the present day. The film has already earned a 100% Certified Fresh Tomatometer ahead of its February 6 limited release and February 20 wide release.
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Director: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi
This new adaptation of the Emily Bronte classic stars Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi and Barbie’s Margot Robbie, who is also a producer on the film, and, like the novel, centers around the tumultuous relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Healthcliff, the orphan her father brought home as young boy.
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Director: Bart Layton
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Halle Berry, Nick Nolte
Based on the novella of the same name by Don Winslow, this Los Angeles-set thriller stars Chris Hemsworth as a thief who crosses paths with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) on what he hopes will be his final big score, with Mark Ruffalo as the detective hot on their trail. The star-studded supporting cast includes Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Corey Hawkins, and Nick Nolte.
The Night Agent: Season 3
Release Date: February 19, 2026
Where to Watch: Netflix
Starring: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Hong Chau, Sarah Desjardins
The Night Agent, based on the hit political action-thriller novel based Matthew Quirk, follows FBI agent Peter Sutherland tangled in deep conspiracies and dangerous global missions. After two seasons of pulse-pounding espionage and betrayals, season three promises another high-stakes adventure.
Release Date: February 20, 2026
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Angourie Rice, Aisha Tyler
After its successful first season adaptation of Laura Dave’s bestselling thriller, The Last Thing He Told Me returns for a second season on Feb. 20, 2026, this time directly adapting Dave’s new sequel novel The First Time I Saw Him. The story continues the story of Hannah Hall (Jennifer Garner) and her stepdaughter Bailey, picking up years after the events of the original mystery when long-absent husband/father Owen reappears.
Release Date: March 11, 2026
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Ariana DeBose
One of the most celebrated crime-fiction franchises finally makes its long-awaited leap to television. Based on Patricia Cornwell’s beloved Kay Scarpetta novels, Scarpetta stars Nicole Kidman as the brilliant forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta and Jamie Lee Curtis as her sister Dorothy in a procedural mystery series premiering March 11, 2026 on Prime Video. The adaptation captures Scarpetta’s relentless pursuit of justice as she uses cutting-edge forensic science to solve complex murder cases and confront her own personal demons.
Release Date: March 13, 2026
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Starring: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Graham.
Avid readers of Colleen Hoover’s novels (including It Ends With Us) will be thrilled to know that another adaptation is in the works, and this time, director Vanessa Caswill is leading the charge with Reminders of Him. Set to premiere March 13, the story centers on Kenna, (Maika Monroe), who, after an outing with her boyfriend, makes an unbearable mistake that sends her to prison. Seven years later, she returns to her hometown in Wyoming, hoping to rebuild her life and earn the chance to reunite with her young daughter.
Release Date: March 18, 2026
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Starring: Kata Mara, Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss, Joel Kinnaman
Imperfect Women, the limited psychological thriller series based on Araminta Hall’s acclaimed novel of the same name, stars Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, and Kate Mara. After a murder fractures a decades-long friendship, three women must face guilt and shocking truths as the investigation upends their lives. With a star-studded this adaptation is one of Apple TV’s most anticipated series of the year.
Release Date: March 20, 2026
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce
Another high-stakes sci-fi adaptation is headed to the big screen, this time from bestselling author Andy Weir (The Martian). Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, an astronaut who wakes up alone on a space station with no memory of who he is or why he’s there. As fragments of his memory return, he discovers he’s on a mission to the Tau Ceti solar system to stop a cosmic event that has already pushed Earth into the early stages of a new ice age. The film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Release Date: April 15, 2026
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Starring: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman
This adaptation brings Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel Margo’s Got Money Troubles to the screen as an eight-episode Apple TV+ series dropping on April 15, 2026. The show follows Margo, a recent college dropout and new mother who turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet, confronting the realities of adulthood, family expectations, and the messy, joyful struggle to find her place in the world. Starring Elle Fanning as Margo with Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman as her parents, fans are excited to see the beloved novel come to life.
Cape Fear (2026)
Release Date: April 15, 2026
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Starring: Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson
Premiering June 5, Cape Fear is a 10-episode psychological thriller inspired by John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners and the iconic 1962 and 1991 films. Created by Nick Antosca, the series stars Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, and Patrick Wilson. With executive producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg attached, the show reimagines the classic story for new audiences.
Lucky (2026)
Release Date: July 15, 2026
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Drew Starkey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Annette Bening
Premiering July 15, Lucky is Apple TV+’s limited-series adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel. The series stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Lucky, a sharp, resourceful con artist whose life unravels after a multi-million-dollar heist goes wrong, leaving her hunted by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss. The cast includes Drew Starkey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Fichtner.
Release Date: July 17, 2026
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson
Academy Award winner Christopher Nolan follows up Oppenheimer with an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, which tells the story of Odysseus (Matt Damon) in the aftermath of the Trojan War. The film’s massive star-studded ensemble includes Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, and more.
Release Date: October 2, 2026
Director: Michael Showalter
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett
Another Colleen Hoover film adaptation is on the way, this time for her bestseller Verity. The film will center around struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), who is hired under mysterious circumstances to serve as the ghostwriter for celebrated author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway). The film is directed by Michael Showalter and also features actor Josh Hartnett.
Release Date: November 20, 2026
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Joseph Zada, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Jesse Plemons, Mckenna Grace, Ben Wang
The follow-up to the 2023 Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes catches up with a now older Coriolanus Snow, this time played by Ralph Fiennes, as he fields a new crop of tributes that includes a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada). The film is based on Suzanne Collins’ book of the same name, which was published in March of 2025.
TBD
Sense and Sensibility (2026)
Release Date: TBD
Director: Georgia Oakley
Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones
Details are still under wraps, but Focus Features has revealed that Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) will star in a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s timeless classic Sense and Sensibility. The new film is following in the footsteps of versions like Ang Lee’s 1995 film and the acclaimed 2008 drama miniseries.
Kill Your Darlings (2026)
Release Date: TBD
Director: James Gray
Starring: Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is set to lead the film adaptation of Kill Your Darlings, the highly anticipated new novel by author Peter Swanson. This murder mystery unfolds a marriage in reverse order, peeling back layers to reveal a dark and dangerous secret at the heart of the couple’s relationship. The source novel was published in June 2025.
The Love Hypothesis
Release Date: TBD
Director: Claire Scanlon
Starring: Lili Reinhart, Arty Froushan, Tom Bateman, Jaboukie Young-White, Nicholas Duvernay, Rachel Marsh
Remember when Twilight fan fiction turned into Fifty Shades of Grey? This is sort of like that, but for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and with less BDSM. The source novel for this film started as Star Wars fan fiction that specifically shipped Rey and Kylo Ren, then turned into a novel about a college Biology student (Riverdale alum Lili Reinhart) who falls in love with her professor (Tom Bateman) when the two agree to pretend that they’re dating. Who knows, maybe we’ll get another trilogy out of this.
My Life with the Walter Boys: Season 3
Release Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Netflix
Starring: Nikki Rodriguez, Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, Noah LaLonde, Ashby Gentry
Based on Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name, My Life With the Walter Boys revolves around teenager Jackie Howard, who loses her family in a car accident. Jackie leaves her New York City life behind and moves in with the Walter family, her new guardians. Caught up in a love triangle with brothers Alex and Cole, Jackie flees back to NYC at the end of the first season. Season 2 was released last Fall, so fans can expect the third season in the latter half of 2026.
Thumbnail image by Sony Pictures
On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.
