From ‘East of Eden’ to ‘Sense and Sensibility’, Every Book Adaptation Coming In October 2026

2026 might as well be called the year of book adaptations. October alone arrives with some 14 book adaptations: From major theatrical releases, like the adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” and the DC Comics-inspired superhero outing “Clayface,” to “East of Eden” and “Carrie,” both series adapted from classic novels that already have film adaptations, there’s something for every genre fan.

IN THEATERS

Other Mommy

RELEASING: Oct. 9

A terrifying Jessica Chastain stars in this supernatural thriller from Rob Savage in a twin role — as the mother of a little girl named Bella (Arabella Olivia Clark) and a sinister entity called “Other Mommy,” who takes up the appearance of Bella’s mother and begins haunting her house. Based on “Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman, the film also stars Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Arian Moayed and Karen Allen.

Emperor vs Sarat Chandra

RELEASING: Oct. 16

Filmmaker Srijit Mukerji adapts Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novella, “Pather Dabi,” set in 1916 colonial Bengal, into a historical drama starring Abir Chatterjee, Mimi Chakraborty and Tota Roy Chowdhury. The film centers on the controversy around Chattopadhyay’s novel, which was banned by the British Raj for openly challenging their governance.

Sense and Sensibility

RELEASING: Oct. 16

Jane Austen’s 1811 classic tale about sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood as they navigate love, heartbreak, class and social expectations gets another screen adaptation. Directed by Georgia Oakley and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe and Frank Dillane with George MacKay and Fiona Shaw, the film has already earned rave early reviews, particularly for MacKay’s charming performance.

Related Stories

‘Digger,’ ‘Other Mommy,’ ‘Street Fighter’ And ‘Clayface’: The Biggest Hollywood Movies Releasing In October

‘100 Days of Deception,’ ‘Love in Disguise,’ ‘Final Table’ and ‘Doctor X’: K-Drama Watchlist for October 2026

Whalefall

RELEASING: Oct. 16

Based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, “Whalefall” is a survival thriller about a young scuba diver who, while searching for his father’s remains, gets swallowed by a sperm whale, with only one hour of oxygen left. Kraus is a co-writer on the script with director and producer Brian Duffield. The film stars “Resident Evil” actor Austin Abrams alongside Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, Jane Levy and Emily Rudd.

Clayface

RELEASING: Oct. 23

DC's first-ever horror superhero film “Clayface” is directed by “Speak No Evil” filmmaker James Watkins, with a screenplay by “The Haunting of Hill House” creator Mike Flanagan and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Hossein Amini. Tom Rhys Harries plays a rising movie star who, after being brutally disfigured, signs up for a medical trial to restore his looks. Instead, he suffers horrific side effects that transform his entire body into living, breathing clay. Also starring Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan.

Wildwood 

RELEASING: Oct. 23

The stop-motion animated fantasy film from director Travis Knight is based on Colin Meloy’s 2011 novel of the same name, illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis. When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, teenager Prue McKeel and her classmate, Curtis, venture into an enchanted forest named Wildwood outside Portland on a rescue mission. They encounter magic, talking birds and animals and a political scenario that could disrupt the entire forest. Its stacked voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.

Klara and the Sun

RELEASING: Oct. 23

Filmmaker Taika Waititi returns with an adaptation of Japanese British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 dystopian sci-fi novel starring Jenna Ortega as a companion purchased for a sick girl, with whom she must bond. The film also stars Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne and is scored by Michael Giacchino.

Wicker

RELEASING: Oct. 30

“Wicker,” starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård, is a medieval romantic fantasy film based on a short story, "The Wicker Husband," by Ursula Wills-Jones. A fisherwoman unable to find a husband but tired of the spinster jokes, commissions a master weaver to make her a husband out of wicker. But the wicker man’s passion and devotion towards his wife cause quite the uproar in the orthodox village. Directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, it also stars  Elizabeth Debicki, Richard E. Grant and Peter Dinklage.

STREAMING

Carrie

RELEASING: Oct. 7

Mike Flanagan puts his own spin on Stephen King’s 1974 teen supernatural horror, “Carrie,” which has already had three screen adaptations so far. In this Prime Video series, Summer H. Howell plays the titular Carrie White, a high-school misfit who suffers an incident of bullying that unlocks her telekinesis powers. Early reviews have critics praising Howell’s performance but are uncertain over some changes to King’s text.

The Trap

RELEASING: Oct. 13

“The Trap” or “Die Falle” is an upcoming Netflix limited series directed by Isabel Kleefeld and adapted from Melanie Raabe’s 2015 novel of the same name about an award-winning author, Lisa Konrad (Friederike Becht), who hasn’t left her home in a decade after witnessing the murder of her sister, Anna (Josephine Thiesen). When she spots the man who could be her sister’s killer on TV, she finally decides to leave and sets a trap using herself as bait. 

A Couple of Lies

RELEASING: Oct. 30

This four-part Swedish limited series is pretty much “The Holiday,” but with a psychological thriller twist, and is based on a bestselling novel named “Bytet” by author Stefan Ahnhem. Two rich couples — one from Stockholm and another from Sicily — indulge in a home swap for the holidays, but the vacation soon turns into a game of surveillance and mind games. Directed by Kasper Barfoed, the series stars Frida Gustavsson, Fares Fares, Emma Appleton and Jakob Oftebro.

Nocturne

RELEASING: Oct. 30

Apple TV’s upcoming crime drama series is based on the Joona Linna novels “Lazarus” and “The Sandman” by husband-wife duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, who write under the pen name Lars Kepler. Liev Schreiber stars as Jonah Lynn, a soldier-turned-homicide detective living the quiet small-town life in Pennsylvania until his family is under attack by a serial killer, Jurek Walter, (Stephen Graham) and Lynn is forced to seek help from his surrogate daughter, FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz).