Jun 07, 2026 2:40pm IST
From ‘Off Campus’ to ‘The Odyssey’: Why Everyone Is Doing Book-To-Screen Adaptations Right Now
From Christopher Nolan adapting Homer’s ancient Greek epic, “The Odyssey,” to Greta Gerwig and Peter Jackson returning to beloved works like “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis and “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien to the big screen, some of the biggest films for the next two years are book adaptations. What’s more, one of the biggest successes of 2026 ($678 million), “Project Hail Mary”, and the hyped returning franchise film, “The Devil Wears Prada 2”, were both adaptations as well.
Book adaptations: Popular in film and streaming
When “The Devil Wears Prada” was optioned, Lauren Weisberger’s book by the same name wasn’t even fully finished. Today, with the rise of Bookstagram and BookTok on social media, where books and authors can go viral even before a novel is published, filmmakers and studios are getting hyper-vigilant about optioning adaptations with existing fan bases that are already invested in the story. Take, for example, SenLinYu’s dark fantasy novel “Alchemised,” which started as a “Harry Potter”-inspired fanfiction about Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger (or, as fans call it, “Dramione”), and as of September 2025, has a seven-figure film deal from Legendary.
Of course, every adaptation has its critics. Some improve on thin material while others chop off major plotlines and characters to fit it for a screen audience. But whether they like it or hate-watch it to criticize, the readers will be watching. And that’s the numbers game. Authors with substantial reader bases like Colleen Hoover (“It Ends With Us”), Emily Henry (“People We Meet on Vacation”) and Jenny Han (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”) have multiple book adaptations in the works, often right after their books hit shelves.
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In an exclusive interview with Variety India, Shelby Van Pelt, author of the BookTok darling “Remarkably Bright Creatures”, revealed, “We sold the film option, right after the hardcover was published in 2022.” The film, starring Sally Field, Lewis Pullman and Alfred Molina voicing Marcellus the octopus, was released on Netflix in May 2026.
On streaming platforms too, there have been popular genres, such as thrillers (“We Were Liars”), romance (“Heartstopper"), historical fantasy fiction ("My Lady Jane", "Outlander") and high fantasy (“Game of Thrones”) that have seen numerous adaptations. The easy bingeability of an adapted Harlan Coben thriller ("Fool Me Once") and the viewership for returning book series-led franchises like "Bridgerton", “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, “My Life With the Walter Boys”, “XO, Kitty”, “The Rings of Power”, “House of the Dragon”, “My Fault”, “Maxton Hall” and more continue to drive their appeal.
However, the breakout success of Crave Canada’s “Heated Rivalry,” based on Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” queer hockey romance series, has propelled the young adult genre into focus. On its heels, the fan mania surrounding another hockey romance, Elle Kennedy's “Off Campus” on Prime Video, ensures streamers and studios will be looking at more steamy YA romances to option for both film and series. Both these series already have future seasons greenlit and in production.
Book-to-screen in 2025-2026
According to a list on the reading social app Goodreads, over 120 books were adapted in 2025 alone, with “Heated Rivalry” being the most prominent release. The first half of 2026 has already seen its fair share of page-to-screen titles, from classics like “Wuthering Heights” with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi to sci-fi like Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary" and fantasy series spinoffs like George R.R. Martin’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”; from modern novels like Rufi Thorpe’s “Margot’s Got Money Troubles”, a new series on Apple TV, to dystopian dramas like "The Testaments", a sequel to "The Handmaid's Tale" the Hulu series and Margaret Atwood's 2019 follow-up novel.
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Upcoming adaptations
Two of the biggest, most anticipated upcoming films of 2026, Nolan’s “The Odyssey” (July) and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three” (December), based on Frank Herbert’s “Dune Messiah,” are book adaptations. “Dune: Prophecy,” a prequel spinoff series on HBO, also returns with a second season. For Jane Austen readers, the year offers two adaptations: A “Pride & Prejudice” series on Netflix, starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden as Elizabeth and Darcy, and a “Sense & Sensibility” film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and George McKay.
One of BookTok’s most loved romance titles, Ali Hazelwood’s “The Love Hypothesis," will arrive on Prime Video as a romantic comedy starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman. Author Colleen Hoover’s fifth book adaptation and fourth feature film adaptation, “Verity,” starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, is set to hit theaters in October 2026.
Amongst returning book franchises, “Practical Magic 2,” based on Alice Hoffman’s “The Book of Magic” (2021) and a sequel to the 1998 film, arrives in September 2026 with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman returning. A new "Hunger Games" film, based on Suzanne Collins’ 2025 prequel novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” is also set to release in November.
Prime Video seems to be betting the most on book adaptations across genres like YA, romance and fantasy. Amazon MGM has greenlit all five seasons of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" as per their deal with author J.R.R. Tolkien's estate. It is also bringing to the screen an adaptation of another viral fantasy novel, "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros, with a showrunner already in place and casting underway.
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