There's no denying that 2020 was a difficult year for the film industry [1] (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 [2]. 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 [3] or a brand-new take on Macbeth, 2021 is set to have something for every book-lover to look forward to.
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 [4], Daisy Ridley, and Nick Jonas [5]
- Watch the trailer for Chaos Walking.
- Read The Knife of Never Letting Go [6].
- Release date: TBC
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 [7].
- Read The Tale of Peter Rabbit [8].
- Release date: 11th Dec.
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 [9].
- Release date: 29th Jan.
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 [10], Lucas Hedges, and Imogen Poots
- Read French Exit [11].
- Release date: 12th Feb.
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 [12], Owen Wilson [13], and Maluma
- Watch the trailer for Marry Me [14].
- Read Marry Me [15].
- Release date: 4th June
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 [16].
- Read Without Remorse [17].
- Release date: TBC
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 [18].
- Release date: TBC.
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 [19], and Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Read The Reincarnationist Papers [20].
- Release date: 28th May
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 [21], Zendaya [22], Oscar Isaac, and Jason Momoa [23]
- Watch the trailer for Dune [24].
- Read Dune [25].
- Release date:1st Oct.
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 [26], and Ben Affleck [27]
- Read The Last Duel [28].
- Release date: 15th Oct.
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 [29], and Jacob Elordi [30]
- Read Deep Water [31].
- Release date: Aug. 2021
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 [32]
- Read The Nightingale [33].
- Release date: 26th Dec.
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 [34].
- Release date: TBC
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 [35], and Bobby Cannavale
- Read Blonde [36].
- Release date: TBC
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 [37], Bill Skarsgård, and Ciara Bravo
- Read Cherry [38].
- Release date: TBC
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 [39], and Ralph Fiennes [40]
- Read The Dig. [41]
- Release date: TBC
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 [42].
- Release date: TBC
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 [43].
- Release date: TBC
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 [44]'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 [45] and Robert De Niro [46]
- Read Killers of the Flower Moon [47].
- Release date: TBC
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 [48].
- Release date: TBC
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 [49], Mel Gibson [50], and Morena Baccarin
- Read Last Looks [51].
- Release date: TBC
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 [52], and Josh O'Connor
- Read Mothering Sunday [53].
- Release date: TBC
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 [54]
- Read Passing [55].
- Release date: TBC
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 [56], and Jesse Plemons
- Read The Power of the Dog [57].
- Release date: TBC
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 [58], and Eric Dane [59]
- Watch the trailer for Redeeming Love [60] now.
- Read Redeeming Love [61].
- Release date: TBC
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 [62]
- Read The Stars at Noon [63].
- Release date: TBC
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 [64].
- Release date: TBC
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 [65], and Christian Convery
- Read The Tiger Rising. [66]
- Release date: TBC
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 [67], Frances McDormand, and Brendan Gleeson
- Read The Tragedy of Macbeth [68].
- Release date: TBC
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 [69]
- Read True Things About Me [70].
- Release date: TBC
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 [71], Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman
- Watch the trailer for The Woman in the Window [72].
- Read The Woman in the Window [73].
- Release date: TBC