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Books Becoming Films in 2021

31 Book-to-Film Adaptations Scheduled to Hit Cinemas in 2021

Nov 13 2020

There's no denying that 2020 was a difficult year for the film industry (and everyone else). With cinemas closed, a number of films were pushed from their scheduled release dates all the way into the new year. As a result, there's an impressive number of books becoming movies in 2021. From the long-awaited release of director Denis Villeneuve's take on Frank Herbert's Dune to Kristin Hannah's sweeping historical epic The Nightingale finally getting the big-screen treatment it deserves, book fans have an exciting year ahead of them. Whether you're looking forward to Netflix's next big YA adaptations or a brand-new take on Macbeth, 2021 is set to have something for every book-lover to look forward to.

Image Source: Everett Collection

1. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

  • What it's about: The long-delayed Chaos Walking follows a young man who grows up believing all the women in the world have died due to a virus that also cursed men with the ability to hear each other's thoughts. When the boy discovers a girl named Viola, they set off on a dangerous journey together.
  • Who's starring: Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, and Nick Jonas
  • Watch the trailer for Chaos Walking.
  • Read The Knife of Never Letting Go.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

2. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

  • What it's about: Peter Rabbit is back in Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. This time around, the mischievous bunny leaves the garden behind in search of a place where his troublemaking skills will be appreciated.
  • Who's starring: James Corden, Daisy Ridley, and Margot Robbie
  • Watch the trailer for Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.
  • Read The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
  • Release date: 11th Dec.
Image Source: Amazon.com

3. There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

  • What it's about: During a summer abroad program, a gifted violinist falls for a movie star who teaches her how to have fun until his fame begins to come between them in Finding You.
  • Who's starring: Rose Reid, Jedidiah Goodacre, and Katherine McNamara
  • Read There You'll Find Me.
  • Release date: 29th Jan.
Image Source: Amazon.com

4. French Exit by Patrick DeWitt

  • What it's about: A New York socialite spends the last of her late husband's money on a move to Paris with her son.
  • Who's starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, and Imogen Poots
  • Read French Exit.
  • Release date: 12th Feb.
Image Source: Amazon.com

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5. Marry Me by Bobby Crosby

  • What it's about: After discovering her fiancé cheated on her on their wedding day, a pop star marries one of her fans instead . . . even though he's a total stranger.
  • Who's starring: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, and Maluma
  • Watch the trailer for Marry Me.

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  • Read Marry Me.
  • Release date: 4th June
Image Source: Amazon.com

6. Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

  • What it's about: After a Baltimore drug lord kills his girlfriend, a CIA operative goes on a quest for revenge.
  • Who's starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jodie Turner‑Smith, and Jamie Bell
  • Watch the trailer for Without Remorse.
  • Read Without Remorse.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

7. Two Kisses For Maddy by Matthew Logelin

  • What it's about: Titled Fatherhood, the movie tells the true story of a father who raised his daughter on his own after his wife died one day after childbirth.
  • Who's starring: Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodard, and Deborah Ayorinde
  • Read Two Kisses For Maddy.
  • Release date: TBC.
Image Source: Amazon.com

8. The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz

  • What it's about: This trippy sci-fi film is titled Infinite, and it focuses on a schizophrenic man who realises his hallucinations are actually memories from his past lives.
  • Who's starring: Dylan O'Brien, Mark Wahlberg, and Chiwetel Ejiofor
  • Read The Reincarnationist Papers.
  • Release date: 28th May
Image Source: Amazon.com

9. Dune by Frank Herbert

  • What it's about: Paul Atreides, a young man destined for greatness, leads an army as he they fight to control the desert world of Arrakis.
  • Who's starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, and Jason Momoa
  • Watch the trailer for Dune.
  • Read Dune.
  • Release date:1st Oct.
Image Source: Amazon.com

10. The Last Duel by Eric Jager

  • What it's about: The Ridley Scott-directed historical drama chronicles the last sanctioned duel in France. After Marguerite de Carrouges alleges that her husband's best friend raped her, her husband challenges his friend to a duel to the death.
  • Who's starring: Jodie Comer, Adam Driver, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck
  • Read The Last Duel.
  • Release date: 15th Oct.
Image Source: Amazon.com

11. Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith

  • What it's about: A couple's open marriage takes a potentially dark turn when the wife's lovers begin to go missing, leaving her husband as the prime suspect.
  • Who's starring: Ana de Armas, Ben Affleck, and Jacob Elordi
  • Read Deep Water.
  • Release date: Aug. 2021
Image Source: Amazon.com

12. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

  • What it's about: As World War II begins, the lives of two sisters take divergent paths.
  • Who's starring: Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning
  • Read The Nightingale.
  • Release date: 26th Dec.
Image Source: Amazon.com

13. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

  • What it's about: In the third and final To All the Boys . . . film, Lara Jean's choice of college could mean letting go of Peter Kavinsky and moving away from her family.
  • Who's starring: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, and Janel Parrish
  • Read Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

14. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

  • What it's about: Blonde is a fictionalized account of the life of movie legend Marilyn Monroe.
  • Who's starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, and Bobby Cannavale
  • Read Blonde.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

15. Cherry by Nico Walker

  • What it's about: Joe and Anthony Russo direct this film about an Army medic with PTSD who turns to robbing banks after he becomes addicted to opioids.
  • Who's starring: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, and Ciara Bravo
  • Read Cherry.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

16. The Dig by John Preston

  • What it's about: A reimagining of the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo, The Dig is a lush historical drama about a widow who finds an invaluable discovery on her property.
  • Who's starring: Lily James, Carey Mulligan, and Ralph Fiennes
  • Read The Dig.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

17. Dear Zoe by Philip Beard

  • What it's about: After her little sister dies, Tess turns to her biological father and the troublemaking boy next door to help her process her grief in this coming-of-age tale.
  • Who's starring: Sadie Sink, Jessica Capshaw, and Theo Rossi
  • Read Dear Zoe.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

18. Fear Street by R.L. Stine

  • What it's about: A group of teens realise that spooky events in their hometown of Shadyside, Ohio, may be interconnected in the first of three movies acquired by Netflix.
  • Who's starring: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Emily Rudd, and Gillian Jacobs
  • Read Fear Street.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

19. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

  • What it's about: Based on a true story, Killers of the Flower Moon will be Martin Scorsese's first western. Set in Oklahoma, the movie focuses on the suspicious deaths of a number of people who found oil on their land, and how the newly formed FBI cracked the case.
  • Who's starring: Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro
  • Read Killers of the Flower Moon.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

20. The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

  • What it's about: Told across two timelines, The Last Letter From Your Lover chronicles a London journalist's attempts to track down a pair of lovers who had an affair in the 1960s.
  • Who's starring: Shailene Woodley, Joe Alwyn, and Felicity Jones
  • Read The Last Letter From Your Lover.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

21. Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould

  • What it's about: A former cop retreats to the woods in hopes of living a quiet life, but a PI finds him and draws him into a murder investigation.
  • Who's starring: Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson, and Morena Baccarin
  • Read Last Looks.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

22. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

  • What it's about: This emotional love story follows a maid living in post World War I England who plans a secret meeting with the man she's in love with shortly before his wedding to another woman.
  • Who's starring: Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, and Josh O'Connor
  • Read Mothering Sunday.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

23. Passing by Nella Larsen

  • What it's about: Set in 1929, Passing follows two high-school friends whose unexpected reunion could threaten the carefully constructed life of a Black woman who is passing as white.
  • Who's starring: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, and Alexander Skarsgård
  • Read Passing.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

24. The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage

  • What it's about: Two brothers own the biggest ranch in Montana, where they fight to preserve an antiquated idea of what it means to be a man. When one of the brothers marries the town widow, the other becomes obsessed with destroying her.
  • Who's starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons
  • Read The Power of the Dog.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

25. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

  • What it's about: The book is a loose retelling of the Old Testament's Book of Hosea set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The movie follows Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a young child, and the love she finds with a man named Michael.
  • Who's starring: Abigail Cowen, Nina Dobrev, and Eric Dane
  • Watch the trailer for Redeeming Love now.
  • Read Redeeming Love.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

26. The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson

  • What it's about: An American woman embarks on a mysterious mission in Central America that is more than it first appears.
  • Who's starring: Margaret Qualley and Robert Pattinson
  • Read The Stars at Noon.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

27. There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

  • What it's about: A new student becomes embroiled in a mysterious string of murders at her high school as it becomes apparent that the senior class is being targeted by a serial killer.
  • Who's starring: Sydney Park, Théodoure Pellerin, and Sarah Dugdale
  • Read There's Someone Inside Your House.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

28. The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

  • What it's about: A 10-year-old named Rob discovers a tiger caged in the woods near his home and enlists the help of a maid and his friend from school in saving the beautiful creature.
  • Who's starring: Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah, and Christian Convery
  • Read The Tiger Rising.

  • Release date: TBC

Image Source: Amazon.com

29. The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

  • What it's about: Based on the classic William Shakespeare play, the film follows Macbeth, a Scottish Lord, who believes he's destined to become king after three witches predict there is greatness in his future.
  • Who's starring: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, and Brendan Gleeson
  • Read The Tragedy of Macbeth.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

30. True Things About Me by Deborah Kay Davies

  • What it's about: A woman who lives life as an outcast becomes drawn to a mysterious stranger.
  • Who's starring: Ruth Wilson and Jude Law
  • Read True Things About Me.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

31. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

  • What it's about: An agoraphobic woman spies on a family across the street and spots something she wasn't supposed to see. This movie has been in the works for a while, but has suffered delay after delay.
  • Who's starring: Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman
  • Watch the trailer for The Woman in the Window.
  • Read The Woman in the Window.
  • Release date: TBC
Image Source: Amazon.com

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