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Books to Movies 2022

Before These 22 Movies Hit the Big Screen in 2022, Read the Books They're Based On

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For moviegoers who love literary adaptations, 2022 is shaping up to be a very good year. There is something inexplicably special about seeing the story and characters you've imagined and built up in your head for so long, physically play out on the big screen in front of you. And while we've had our fair share of wonderful book to TV adaptions this past year, with fan favourite series like "Conversations with Friends", "Bridgerton", "Heartstopper", and "Under the Banner of Heaven"; the buzz and excitement around big screen adaptions has been much anticipated. After years of delayed filming and production due to COVID-19, there is a pretty hefty list of movies that book lovers have been itching to see for some time. Between announcements and trailer releases for major bestsellers like "Where the Crawdads Sing" and new, refreshing takes on classics like "Persuasion" and "Peter Pan", there's something for everyone among the book-to-screen adaptations coming out in the year ahead.

While some of 2022's most anticipated adaptations don't have an exact date as of yet, a handful of them already have staked out their spot on the calendar. It's definitely going to be a very good year for book and movie lovers alike!

Image Source: Everett Collection

1. "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie

  • What it's about: Detective Poirot's holiday is interrupted by a murder on a luxury cruise on the Nile River. Poirot must solve the mystery, but first he has to figure out what his fellow vacationers are hiding.
  • Who's starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Russell Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, and Ali Fazal
  • Read "Death on the Nile"
  • Released date: Feb. 11, watch it on HBO MAX now.


Image Source: amazon.com

2. "Deep Water" by Patricia Highsmith

  • What it's about: A couple in a loveless marriage agree to an arrangement, allowing the wife to have affairs in order to avoid a messy divorce. When the husband grows jealous, deadly psychological mind games ensue.
  • Who's starring: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas
  • Read "Deep Water"
  • Released date: March 18, watch it on Hulu now.
Image Source: amazon.com

3. "The Unbreakable Boy" by Scott Michael LeRette

  • What it's about: Based on the incredible true story, this novel tells the story of a young boy named Austin with a rare brittle bone disease and autism. Austin has a joyous outlook on life that inspires everyone around him and encourages those closest to him to have faith and find the good in the little things. His father, Scott, shares beautiful and humourous anecdotes of the important lessons Austin has taught him throughout his childhood.
  • Who's starring: Zachary Levi, Jacob Laval, Meghann Fahy, Drew Powell, and Gavin Warren
  • Read "The Unbreakable Boy"
  • Released date: March 18
Image Source: Amazon

4. "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens

  • What it's about: Kya Clark, the "Marsh Girl," grows up alone and something of a local legend in 1960s North Carolina. When a local celebrity turns up dead, Mya is the prime suspect, but there's much more to her story than anyone knows.
  • Who's starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, David Strathairn, and Jayson Warner Smith
  • Read "Where the Crawdads Sing"
  • Release date: June 24
Image Source: amazon.com

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5. "The Black Phone" by Joe Hill

  • What it's about: Finney Shaw is a young boy who is kidnapped by a serial killer. While imprisoned in a soundproof basement, he finds a strange telephone that conveys the voices of the killer's previous victims, who each try to help him escape.
  • Who's starring: Mason Thames, Ethan Hawke, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and James Ransone
  • Read "The Black Phone" in "20th Century Ghosts"
  • Release date: June 24


Image Source: amazon.com

6. "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" by Paul Gallico

  • What it's about: In 1950s London, a cleaning lady discovers a Dior dress in the home of one of her clients. Falling in love with fashion, she saves up enough to head to Paris and pursue her dreams.
  • Who's starring: Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, and Rose Williams
  • Read "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris"
  • Released date: July 15
Image Source: amazon.com

7. Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

  • What's it about: This dark, action-thriller follows the story of five of the most deadly and highly-trained assassins who all end up on the same train. Though they all have different targets, the looming question of why they are all on the same train and who is going to make it out alive hooks readers until the very end.
  • Who's starring: Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, Bad Bunny, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Andrew Koji, Logan Lerman, Zazie Beetz, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Hiroyuki Sanada
  • Read "Bullet Train"
  • Release date: July 29
Image Source: Amazon

8. "White Bird" by R.J. Palacio

  • What it's about: Palacio's graphic novel traces the story of Sara, a young Jewish girl seeking refuge in a Nazi-occupied village in France during World War II. With her life on the line, the outcast boy she and her friends ignored becomes her best friend and companion.
  • Who's starring: Gillian Anderson, Helen Mirren, Ariella Glaser, Bryce Gheisar, Jo Stone-Fewings, and Orlando Schwerdt
  • Read "White Bird"
  • Release date: Oct. 14
Image Source: amazon.com

9. "She Said" by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey

  • What it's about: The nonfiction story traces how Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, two New York Times reporters, broke the Harvey Weinstein story and sent shockwaves through the entire entertainment industry.
  • Who's starring: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Samantha Morton, Tom Pelphrey, and Adam Shapiro
  • Read "She Said"
  • Release date: Nov. 28
Image Source: amazon.com

10. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

  • What it's about: This non-fiction, true-crime novel delves into the brutal murders of the Osage family in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Grann revisits the shocking murders that were fuelled by prejudice and feelings of racially charged displacement towards Native Americans, and the ensuing reactions from the newly created FBI.
  • Who's starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, and Jesse Plemons
  • Read "Killers of the Flower Moon"
  • Release date: November 2022
Image Source: Amazon

11. "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

  • What it's about: Two French sisters in World War II deal with the Nazi occupation in different ways. Vianne, the elder sister, is forced to allow a German officer to stay in her home while her husband is at the frontline. On the other hand, the younger sister, Isabelle, joins the French resistance.
  • Who's starring: Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning
  • Read "The Nightingale"
  • Release date: Dec. 23
Image Source: amazon.com

12. "The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani

  • What it's about: In a world of twisted fairy tales, best friends Sophie and Agatha are sure of where they'll be placed at the School of Good and Evil. When their fortunes are shockingly reversed, they struggle to preserve their friendship and find their way home again.
  • Who's starring: Sofia Wylie, Sophia Anne Caruso, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, Laurence Fishburne, Kit Young, Ben Kingsley, Rachel Bloom, Patti LuPone
  • Read "The School for Good and Evil"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

13. "Persuasion" by Jane Austen

  • What it's about: Anne Elliot is the overlooked middle daughter of a proud family falling on hard times. At the worst possible time, she crosses paths again with Captain Frederick Wentworth, her first love who she was convinced to reject years ago.
  • Who's starring: Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Suki Waterhouse, Richard E. Grant, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ben Bailey Smith, Izuka Hoyle, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Nia Towle
  • Read "Persuasion"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

14. "White Noise" by Don DeLillo

  • What it's about: Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler studies, his wife Babette, and their four children have their lives turned upside down when a horrifying train accident sends chemical waste spreading over their town.
  • Who's starring: Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, Raffey Cassidy, Jodie Turner-Smith, Don Cheadle, André Benjamin, May Nivola, Sam Nivola
  • Read "White Noise"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

15. "The Stars at Noon" by Denis Johnson

  • What it's about: In 1984 Nicaragua, revolution puts everyone in danger. An enigmatic British businessman and a strong-willed American journalist fall in love, but are forced to quickly rely on each other to survive and escape the country.
  • Who's starring: Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley
  • Read "The Stars at Noon"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

16. "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque

  • What it's about: Paul Bäumer and his classmates enlist in the German army during World War I, certain that it will be a quick and glorious war. As the true horrors of the first modern war set in, Paul vows that he will spend his life fighting against the kind of hate that starts wars — if he makes it out alive.
  • Who's starring: Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Sebastian Hülk, Felix Kammerer, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic and Devid Striesow
  • Read "All Quiet on the Western Front"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

17. "The Wonder" by Emma Donoghue

  • What it's about: Lib Wright, a young nurse, arrives in rural Ireland to see an 11-year-old girl named Anna whose family claims she never eats and lives off of "manna from heaven." As people flock to see what they believe to be a miracle, Lib tries to uncover the truth in order to keep young Anna alive.
  • Who's starring: Florence Pugh, Ciarán Hinds, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Toby Jones, and Niamh Algar
  • Read "The Wonder"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

18. "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie

  • What it's about: In a Disney+ remake called "Peter Pan & Wendy", the classic story of the boy who wouldn't grow up gets a refresh. It's still the same basic story you know and love: the Darling siblings fly to Neverland with the help of Peter Pan, where they encounter pirates, mermaids, pixies, and other magical adventures.
  • Who's starring: Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, Molly Parker, Alan Tudyk, Jim Gaffigan, and Jude Law
  • Read "Peter Pan"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: amazon.com

19. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

  • What's it about: This historical fictional novel chronicles the inner, more private parts of American actress and model Marilyn Monroe. It delves into the glitz and glamour, but also the deeper, darker secrets.
  • Who's starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Sara Paxton, and Bobby Cannavale
  • Read "Blonde"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: Amazon

20. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine

  • What it's about: Adrian Tomine, who is known and recognised for his illustrations for The New Yorker, presents a humourous but honest graphic novel that focuses on three young people based in the Bay Area - Ben Tanaka, Miko Hayashi, and Alice Kim - as they explore racial politics, interpersonal relationships, and the Asian American experience.
  • Who's starring: No cast information has been released, but Randall Park will be making his directorial debut.
  • Read "Shortcomings"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: Amazon

21. My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

  • What it's about: This romance novel set in 1950s Brighton, England, tells the story of Tom, Patrick, and Marion. Tom and Marion are a couple, and Marion is deeply in love with Tom. But when Tom meets a man named Patrick, the two fall in love. At the time, it is much safer for Tom and Marion to marry - meaning the three of them must share this love, and deep secret, amongst themselves.
  • Who's starring: Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, and David Dawson
  • Read "My Policeman"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: Amazon

22. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

  • What it's about: This young adult novel follows sixth-grader Margaret Simon. Due to her parents' interfaith marriage and upbringing, Margaret grew up without a religious affiliation. Her friends are shocked, and can't believe she doesn't identify with one religion. Little do they know, Margaret has her very own, special relationship with God.
  • Who's starring: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Benny Safdie, Kathy Bates, and Elle Graham.
  • Read "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"
  • Release date: TBA 2022
Image Source: Amazon

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