2026 is shaping up to be a notable year for literary adaptations, both good and bad. Here’s a recap of three of the best book-to-screen adaptations from the first half of the year, as well as five adaptations to keep an eye out for in the second half of the year.
This list only focuses on movies, but it’s important to acknowledge that literary adaptations are also thriving in the world of television right now. Margo’s Got Money Troubles, starring the endlessly-charming Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, and based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe, recently premiered on Apple TV. People have also been enjoying HBO’s A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, the prequel to the Game of Thrones series, and Netflix’s His and Hers, based on Alice Feeney’s novel, and starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal.
Best of the Year So Far
3. The Devil Wears Prada 2
Based on Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada 2 features Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt back in their roles as Andy, Miranda, and Emily. It’s a solid sequel that holds true to its roots while still maintaining its relevance. Although at times a little over-stuffed with references to the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is ultimately successful (in execution, and at the box office). The outfits are well-executed (albeit a little ugly), the soundtrack is strong (and the film features a performance from Lady Gaga), and the plot holds on to the meatier challenges plaguing journalism. Most of all, it’s just a good time at the movies.
2. The Sheep Detectives
A by-the-book murder mystery with Hugh Jackman and a flock of talking sheep, The Sheep Detectives is a shockingly tender adaptation of a 2005 German novel titled “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story.” The movie follows the flock of sheep, voiced by an ensemble including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, and Bella Ramsey, as they solve the murder of their shepherd George (Jackman). While the sheep are attempting to solve the murder, so is the cast of characters in the eccentric town of Denbrook, featuring Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson. Although not all of the performances of the humans worked for me, the movie shined when the sheep were on screen. And despite having a premise that could be extremely cheesy and hokey in so many ways, the film pulls off a surprisingly beautiful meditation on grief, otherness, and the burden (and gifts) of memory.
1. Project Hail Mary
I’ve previously written about my love of Lord & Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, and its place at the top of this list was never really in question. Unlike The Sheep Detectives with its massive ensemble, Project Hail Mary features a stripped-down cast, and often scenes with just Ryan Gosling on screen, and a slew of practical effects. Project Hail Mary has amassed $668.5 million at the box office worldwide, which puts it at $168.5 million in estimated theatrical profit. It’s the third-highest grossing film of the year so far (behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael, both based on different types of IP). Project Hail Mary set an astronomically high bar for literary adaptations this year. It will be fun to see if anything can catch up to not only its financial success, but also its success as a faithful adaptation that stayed true to its source material while also delivering its own movie magic.
Most Anticipated
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, there are plenty of literary adaptations to come. Here are the five I’m most excited for.
Honorable mentions: Practical Magic 2, which looks quite bad, but the original is near-and-dear to my heart; Greta Gerwig’s The Magician’s Nephew, a film that I’m unconvinced needs to exist, but that I’ll nevertheless be seated for; Sense and Sensibility, another film I’m unconvinced needs to exist, but still has potential; and, of course, Dune: Part 3, Denis Villeneuve’s conclusion to his space opera trilogy.
5. Klara and the Sun
Coming October 23, 2026
Taika Waititi is directing an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams, and featuring Natasha Lyonne and Steve Buschemi. Waititi is best known for Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok, two wildly different films that highlight his filmmaking style, and that provide some hope for his ability to capture the themes of Klara and the Sun. The film will star Ortega as Klara, a robot designed to be a companion for children in a future dystopian America.
4. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Coming November 20, 2026
Based on Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping, the film continues the prequel series to The Hunger Games. Directed by Francis Lawrence (I am Legend, The Long Walk) and featuring an ensemble including Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, and Ralph Fiennes, among others, the film serves as a bridge between The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snacks (2023) and The Hunger Games (2012). Despite mixed reactions to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, anticipation and excitement are high for Sunrise on the Reaping.
3. The Samurai and the Prisoner
Coming July 31, 2026
Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi (Cure, Cloud) has adapted Yonezawa Honobu’s prize-winning novel, which premiered at Cannes and is set for U.S. distribution by Janus in July, following its Japanese release in June. The film follows Araki Murashige, a warlord, trying to manage the internal order of his stronghold as a series of crimes threatens to upset the balance. Kurosawa’s work tends to be filled with paranoia and unsettling themes. Early reports of the film describe it as Shakespeare mixed with Agatha Christie, but also with Samurai.
2. Whalefall
Coming October 16, 2026
Whalefall is a film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-Winner Daniel Kraus’ novel of the same name. Directed by Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You, Spontaneous) and co-written by Duffield and Kraus, the film is a survivor thriller following a scuba diver (Austin Abrams) who gets swallowed alive by a whale. The trailer premiered at CinemaCon, but I’m avoiding all previews, putting my faith in movie magic to deliver all of the possibilities of such a thrilling, beautiful book.
1. The Odyssey
Coming July 17, 2026
Speaking of avoiding all previews, so far I have avoided all trailers, sneak peeks, and most discourse for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, but it is by far my most anticipated of the year. The film features Matt Damon, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Holland, and will premiere in premium formats such as IMAX 70mm. Here’s hoping the new Cinemark 70mm IMAX in Woodridge, Illinois will be ready by then…
