2026 might be the single biggest year for book-to-screen adaptations in Hollywood history. From gothic romance to Greek mythology to dystopian Panem, the lineup this year is genuinely staggering.
Whether you’re a BookTok regular or a classic literature fan, there is something on this list you’ve been waiting for. Here are the ten most anticipated adaptations arriving this year.
The Biggest Book-to-Screen Adaptations of 2026
1. The Odyssey (July 17)
Christopher Nolan, following up Oppenheimer by adapting Homer’s ancient epic poem, is the kind of news that makes you stop scrolling. Nolan writes and directs from a $250 million budget, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.
It is also the first film ever shot entirely in IMAX. The source material is one of the most enduring stories in human history, following the king of Ithaca on his decade-long journey home after the Trojan War. Nolan saying this was an “absolute nightmare” to film only makes it more exciting.
2. Project Hail Mary (March 20)
Andy Weir’s 2021 novel is arguably the most beloved sci-fi book of the last decade, and the adaptation delivered. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, with a screenplay by Drew Goddard, who also wrote The Martian, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a molecular biologist turned middle school science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship nearly 12 light-years from Earth with no memory of how he got there.
It earned $677.3 million at the global box office, which confirms what book fans already knew: this story is something special. The friendship at the center of the novel is the whole thing, and by all accounts, the film protects it.
3. Wuthering Heights (February 13)
Emerald Fennell writes and directs this adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, starring Margot Robbie as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. After Saltburn turned Elordi into one of the most compelling screen presences working today, reuniting him with Fennell for the most gothic love story in English literature felt almost inevitable.
The project sparked a bidding war, with Netflix offering $150 million before the filmmakers accepted Warner Bros.’ pitch for a wide theatrical release and a full marketing campaign. Choosing a smaller deal to keep it in theatres says everything about the kind of movie this was always meant to be.
4. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (November 20)
Set during the 50th Hunger Games, this second prequel in the franchise follows young Haymitch Abernathy as he enters the arena, placed between the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the original trilogy. The cast is enormous: Joseph Zada as Haymitch, Glenn Close as Drusilla, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, McKenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Kieran Culkin, and Josh Hutcherson making an appearance.
Francis Lawrence returning to direct is the final reassurance fans needed. This will mark the quickest-ever turnaround between a Hunger Games book’s publication and the release of its film adaptation.
5. Verity (October 2)
Colleen Hoover’s darkest novel finally has a cast worthy of its twists. Directed by Michael Showalter, the film stars Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to ghostwrite for renowned author Verity Crawford, played by Anne Hathaway.
After uncovering what appears to be Verity’s chilling autobiographical notes, Lowen wrestles with disturbing confessions about Verity’s husband, Jeremy (played by Josh Hartnett), and struggles to separate fiction from reality. Verity is the kind of book where you finish it at 2am and immediately text someone to ask what they thought of the ending. The fact that Hathaway is producing alongside starring suggests she understood the assignment completely.
6. Lord of the Flies (May 4)
Created and written by Jack Thorne, the co-creator of Adolescence, and directed by Marc Munden, this four-episode limited series marks the first-ever television adaptation of William Golding’s novel. Casting director Nina Gold, known for her work on Game of Thrones, ran an open casting call to find mostly unknown young actors, with Winston Sawyers as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack, and David McKenna as Piggy.
Thorne has spoken about the series as a direct response to modern anxieties about boys: “We’re losing a generation of boys, and we’re losing it because of the hate they are ingesting, because it is an answer to their loneliness and isolation.” The score is by Hans Zimmer. This one is not a comfort watch. That’s exactly the point.
7. Cape Fear (June 5)
Created by Nick Antosca and based on John D. MacDonald’s 1957 novel The Executioners, the 10-episode series draws from both the 1962 film and Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake, starring Javier Bardem as sociopathic ex-convict Max Cady seeking revenge on the married couple who helped put him away, played by Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson. Scorsese and Spielberg serve as executive producers, reuniting the creative legacy of the original 1991 film with this serialized take.
Where earlier versions built to physical violence, Antosca’s take focuses on psychological warfare: Bardem’s Cady exploits legal loopholes his former attorneys created, weaponizing the very system they represent. Bardem stepping into a role that Robert De Niro defined is one of the boldest casting moves of the year.
8. Margo’s Got Money Troubles (April 15)
Based on Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel, the eight-episode series follows Margo Millet, a college dropout and new mother who starts an OnlyFans account to pay her bills. Her mother, Shyanne, is a former Hooters waitress played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Her estranged father, Jinx, a retired pro wrestler in recovery, is played by Nick Offerman.
The series also stars Nicole Kidman and Greg Kinnear, and is created by David E. Kelley, marking his fourth project with Kidman after Big Little Lies, The Undoing, and Nine Perfect Strangers. It earned a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer ahead of its premiere. The cast alone makes this unmissable. Elle Fanning leading a show this stacked was long overdue.
9. Sense and Sensibility (October 16)
Directed by Georgia Oakley and adapted by bestselling author Diana Reid, the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood and Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne, with Caitríona Balfe as the Dashwood matriarch, George MacKay as Edward Ferrars, Frank Dillane as Willoughby, and Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Jennings. Oakley’s previous film, Blue Jean, was one of the most quietly devastating British films of recent years, so handing her Jane Austen’s story of two sisters navigating heartbreak, class pressure, and financial ruin after their father’s death feels like an inspired choice.
Edgar-Jones has spent the last few years proving she can carry emotionally complex material, and Elinor Dashwood, who holds everything together while quietly falling apart inside, is exactly the kind of role that suits her. The film is produced by Working Title alongside Focus Features, with the screenplay written by Diana Reid, a novelist known for writing characters who are as sharp as they are emotionally raw. Austen’s first published novel has never had a proper cinematic moment in the modern era. This looks like the one.
10. Bridgerton Season 4 (January 29 and February 26)
Season 4 centers on bohemian second son Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, and his Cinderella-inspired romance with Sophie Baek, played by Yerin Ha, a lady’s maid who disguises herself as the mysterious Lady in Silver at a masquerade ball. The season backtracks to adapt Julia Quinn’s third novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, after Season 3 jumped ahead to the fourth book.
Benedict has been one of the most discussed Bridgerton siblings for years, and his storyline in the books is one of the most emotionally satisfying in the whole series. Sophie Baek, being the show’s first East Asian lead, is a meaningful shift too. Netflix has already renewed the series through Season 6 as part of Shonda Rhimes’ eight-season plan for the franchise.
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