It’s no secret that loads of nice motion pictures and TV reveals have been first conceived of as books — an awesome story is a superb story, in spite of everything. A few of 2024’s buzziest tasks started as novels, resembling “Depraved,” “It Ends with Us,” “Bridgerton,” “The Excellent Couple,” and extra.
2025 means loads extra excellent books are coming to screens, from the eerie police and household drama of Philadelphia in Liz Moore’s “Lengthy Shiny River” to Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson and Lynne Ramsay placing their certainly distinctive spin on Ariana Harwicz’s novel “Die, My Love.” Whereas it’s a preferred idiom that the e book is at all times higher, now we have a great feeling concerning the beneath listing, which characteristic tales that mix nice plots with sharp characters portrayed by an thrilling group of actors (Sarah Snook! Alexander Skarsgård!).
If you happen to’re in search of your subsequent learn, make it considered one of these, and also you’ll be capable of confidently inform your mates, “Nicely, truly, it wasn’t fairly like that within the e book…”
In search of much more? Whereas they’re additional off but, another memorable bestselling novels with diversifications formally within the works embrace “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” — a strong story about friendship, grief, and video video games that this reporter is obsessive about making everybody try — in addition to “Fourth Wing,” which Michael B. Jordan’s firm is adapting for Prime Video and is the romantasy obsession of the second. (The third e book in that deliberate five-book franchise by Rebecca Yarros, “Onyx Storm,” might be launched January 21, 2025.)
Add the beneath books — a lot of which don’t have official launch dates however are anticipated this 12 months — to your library listing, stat.
1. “Lengthy Shiny River”
Starring: Amanda Seyfried
“Lengthy Shiny River” is a wonderful e book by Liz Moore, and has loads of potential to be changed into an awesome sequence. The official logline says the restricted sequence will inform “the story of Mickey (Seyfried), a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid disaster. When a sequence of murders begins within the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her private historical past could be associated to the case.”
“Lengthy Shiny River” was one 2020’s top-selling books, showing on Barack Obama’s better of the 12 months listing in addition to being a Good Morning America e book membership decide. Moore is adapting her e book for the display screen alongside Nikki Toscano, with each additionally serving as govt producers. A launch date for the Peacock sequence has not but been introduced.
2. “The Girl Who Fooled the World”
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever
“Apple Cider Vinegar,” a story sequence based mostly on the non-fiction e book “The Girl Who Fooled the World” by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano will hit Netflix February 6: It tales the story of an Australian influencer within the mid-2010s, Belle Gibson, who fakes a most cancers battle for followers and builds an empire based mostly on a lie.
The e book and present may even deal with the wellness business, and the attraction of those dwelling treatments, particularly for girls who really feel ignored by the male-dominated medical occupation. The e book significantly has lots to say concerning the rise of Instagram/influencer tradition which, in fact, we are actually all dwelling with the outcomes of. Enjoyable!
3. “The Housemaid”
Starring: Amanda Seyfried (once more!), Sydney Sweeney
The 2022 bestselling e book by Freida McFadden is a twisty psychological thriller a few dwelling so tousled you’ll be eager for the soothing embrace of a haunted home. The difference will star Sweeney as Millie, a younger lady on her final probability who turns into a housekeeper for the well-to-do couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew. It isn’t lengthy earlier than Millie realizes issues are fairly dang effed up of their dwelling (there’s an attic door that solely unlocks from the surface, for one…) — however, in fact, Millie isn’t all she seems to be both.
Followers of “Gone Woman” and Paul Feig’s personal adaptation of “A Easy Favor” will certainly eat this darkish thriller up — and excellent news: There’s already two revealed sequels by creator Frieda McFadden (who has a boatload of enjoyable thrillers, so be ready to fall down that rabbit gap).*
4. “All Her Fault”
Starring: Sarah Snook, Jake Lacy, Michael Peña
The thriller by Andrea Mara follows an overwhelmed mother, Marissa, who goes to choose up her son Milo from a playdate, solely to find he’s not there — and the house owners of the home have by no means heard of Milo. Her baby has vanished into skinny air together with his new nanny, and it’s as much as Marissa to trace them down, with little or no to go on, earlier than it’s too late. The novel is a traditional “you’ll be up till you end it” pageturner, and anticipate the restricted sequence, premiering on Peacock, to characteristic extra of the identical.
5. “The Searching Wives”
Starring: Brittany Snow, Dermot Mulroney, Chrissy Metz
Set to be a Starz sequence, the plot description for the novel by Could Cobb reads: “Sophie O’Neill left behind an envy-inspiring profession and the irritating, aggressive lifetime of big-city Chicago to quiet down together with her husband and younger son in a small Texas city. …Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who’s a part of an elite clique secretly often known as the Searching Wives. Sophie finds herself utterly drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night goal follow and harmful partying. As Sophie’s curiosity provides option to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the security of her household and deeper into this nest of vipers. When the physique of a teenage lady is found within the woods the place the Searching Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the course of a homicide investigation and her life spiraling uncontrolled.”
6. “The Higher Sister”
Starring: Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, Corey Stoll
This home noir by Alafair Burke is your traditional e book membership e book: Meaning large twists, sophisticated characters, and loads of ethical dilemmas to dive into and debate. The plot follows two estranged sisters — estranged for what looks as if apparent causes, as a result of wild baby Nicky’s former husband Adam within the current day is married to Nicky’s type-A sister Chloe. Chloe is even mainly mother to Nicky and Adam’s baby, Ethan. When Adam turns up lifeless of their condo one night time police suspect teenage Ethan — and Chloe should dive into the ladies’s respective checkered pasts to show his innocence.
The restricted sequence adaptation might be directed by Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya” “Cruella”) and is predicted to premiere on Prime Video.
7. “Mickey 17”
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo
Bong Joon-ho’s first movie since his triumph on the Oscars with “Parasite” is that this science fiction comedy based mostly on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7.” The movie, “Mickey 17,” boasts a terrific solid and a scrumptious premise: In an effort to depart earth, Pattinson indicators as much as be an “expendable” in a course of the place a brand new physique might be generated with its reminiscences intact after a earlier model dies. The one drawback comes when one thing goes incorrect and Pattinson finds himself at conflict with considered one of his personal iterations — the sort of factor that ought to provide Bong ample alternatives for the sort of genre-bending, sly black comedy at which he excels. —Jim Hemphill*
8. “Washington Black”
Starring: Sterling Ok. Brown, Tom Ellis, Charles Dance
The official description for Esi Edugyan’s Man Booker Prize Finalist reads: “Eleven-year-old George Washington Black — or Wash — a discipline slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is initially terrified when he’s chosen because the manservant of his grasp’s brother. To his shock, nonetheless, the eccentric Christopher Wilde seems to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Quickly Wash is initiated right into a world the place a flying machine can carry a person throughout the sky, [and] two individuals, separated by an unattainable divide, can start to see one another as human. However when a person is killed and a bounty is positioned on Wash’s head, they have to abandon every part and flee collectively. Over the course of their travels, what brings Wash and Christopher collectively will tear them aside, propelling Wash ever farther throughout the globe looking for his true self.”
The long-in-the-works adaptation reportedly accomplished filming in fall 2024.
9. “Die, My Love”
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield
Jennifer Lawrence performs a girl ravaged on the crossroads of affection and insanity (and ostensibly some sort of postpartum breakdown, given the supply materials), reverse Robert Pattinson as her onscreen husband and LaKeith Stanfield as her lover. Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte co-star in a film Lynne Ramsay mentioned diverges from the e book, a few lady in a secluded French village coping with psychological well being points.
Ramsay has been recognized to take a unfastened method to her supply materials, freely adapting Lionel Schriver’s “We Must Discuss About Kevin” and Jonathan Ames’ “You Have been By no means Actually Right here.” She wrote the script for “Die, My Love” with Edna Walsh and once more works with DP Seamus McGarvey, who created a nightmarish swirl of hallucinatory photographs for “Kevin.” The film doesn’t have a U.S. distributor but, however I’d guess on not less than a Cannes premiere (the place Ramsay typically goes) and a distributor snapping this up fast. —Ryan Lattanzio*
10. “The Murderbot Diaries”
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård
The e book sequence by Martha Wells follows “a sentient safety android that calls itself Murderbot should masks its capacity without spending a dime thought while finishing harmful assignments and is concurrently drawn to people and appalled at their weak point.”
The difference might be yet one more science-fiction story for Apple TV+, which has discovered a distinct segment with this type of futuristic mission (suppose “Severance”). Up to now there are seven novels within the sequence, the primary of which is titled “All Programs Purple,” and which gained the 2018 Hugo Award. Well timed questions on AI are positive to please followers of the style, and, come on, who isn’t intrigued by a sentient robotic?
* Signifies writeup comes from our listing of IndieWire’s Most Anticipated Films of 2025.