These books are all being adapted into movies and hitting theaters before 2019. From classics like Little Women and Pet Semetary, to popular fan series such as Artemis Fowl, we’ll be hitting up the movies (and maybe the library) much more often. How many of these books have you read?
1. LITTLE WOMEN BY LOUSIA MAY ALCOTT
In honor of the novel’s 150th anniversary, Little Women hits the big screen later this year, taking on a more current and indie approach. The original Louisa May Alcott book (published in 1868 by the Roberts Brothers) chronicles the story of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—and their journey to womanhood during the Civil War era. The new film appears to take place in a later decade, but still depicts the girls’ passage to adulthood, featuring scenes of the March sisters as both younger and older versions of themselves. While few details about the plot have been released from Paulist Productions, the trailer mostly focuses on Jo, played by Sarah Davenport. Feeling defeated after a story she spent a decade writing hasn’t gotten any attention, a professor and soon-to-be love interest of the film, played by Ian Bohen, gives her a new perspective. Lea Thompson stars as Marmee, Lucas Grabeel stars as Laurie, and Melanie Stone stars as Meg. Little Women will hit theaters in September 2018.
2. THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB BY DAVID LAGERCRANTZ
The Girl in the Spider’s Web continues the storyline of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. In this story, published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2015, readers meet punk hacker Lisbeth Salander, played by Claire Foy, and editor Mikael Blomkvist, played by Sverrir Gudnason. Hungry for a story, Blomkvist follows Salander, and together they find themselves caught in a web of spies, cyber criminals, and corrupt government officials. The Girl in the Spider’s Web is slated for release in October 2018 and was produced by Sony Pictures’ Millennium and MGM franchise.
3. THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR BY NICOLA YOON
The Sun Is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon, is an award-winning novel published by Delacorte Press in 2016. The plot starts with two teens, Natasha and Daniel, who fall in love 12 hours before Natasha’s family is supposed to be deported to Jamaica. This thought-provoking novel, told through alternating points of view about the romance of Natasha and Daniel, is narrated through their eyes and by people who are unintentionally part of their love story, mirroring our almost spooky interconnectedness. The movie will be produced by MGM Studios and Warner Brothers. Cast details have not been released, but it is rumored that Yara Shahidi from Black-ish will star as Natasha, according to Variety.
4. PET SEMATARY BY STEPHEN KING
4. PET SEMATARY BY STEPHEN KING
This 1989 film based on the 1983 novel published by Doubleday is getting a second remake. While a sequel was released in 1992, this remake from Paramount will only feature the first film, rather than continue the plot. The original Stephen King novel follows Dr. Louis Creed as he takes a new job and moves his family to Maine, where things are ominously strange. Trucks travel way too quickly by his new home and there is a makeshift pet cemetery out back in the nearby woods. Louis then begins to see warning signs, both real and in his nightmares, warning him not to venture beyond the borders of this little pet graveyard. Here, corpses come back to life as demonic, murderous versions of themselves after being buried in the cemetery. Cast details have not been released yet, but the film will hit theaters in April 2019.
5. THE CALL OF THE WILD BY JACK LONDON
The bond between man and dog is unbreakable. The Call of the Wild, published by Macmillian Publishers in 1903, is an action-packed novel about Buck the dog during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. Buck, half St. Bernard and half sheepdog, is sold to a group of American gold hunters who have little experience living in the wilderness and treat the dogs poorly. Buck is saved by hunter John Thornton and remains closely by his side, saving him from drowning and protecting him. But at the same time, Buck’s attraction to the wilderness around him is undeniable. This story illustrates the relationship between man and dog, and the draw of primitive instincts that pull Buck away from the conditioned animal he has become. Cast details have not yet been revealed. The Call of the Wild, produced by Technoprops, is slated for release in December 2019.
6. WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE BY MARIA SEMPLE
This 2012 novel, published by Little, Brown and Co. focuses on the relationship of a former architect, Bernadette, now ridden with anxiety. Bernadette promised her 15-year-old daughter, Bee, a family trip to Antarctica if she received good grades. As the promise must be fulfilled, reclusive Bernadette can’t refuse, but as travel plans begin, Bernadette gets tangled in an internet scam and goes missing. This part-comedy, part-drama follows Bee in her attempt to figure out what has happened to her mother. The star-studded cast includes Cate Blanchett as Bernadette Fox, Kristen Wigg as Audrey, Judy Greer as Dr. Kurtz, and Troian Bellisario as Becky. Where’d You Go, Bernadette, from Annapurna Pictures and Color Force, hits theaters in October 2018.
7. THE ROSIE PROJECT BY GRAEME SIMSION
The Rosie Project, published by Text Publishing in 2013, is the perfect quirky love story. Don Tillman, a socially inept genetics professor, is on a quest to find a wife. In the scientific fact-based manner that he conducts everything, he designs The Wife Project—a 16-page, scientifically valid survey—to find his perfect partner. Rosie Jarman is perfect for him, yet fails to ace his survey and he disqualifies her. Still intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father, Don begins to form an unlikely relationship with her, and helps her launch The Father Project. Don begins to realize that Rosie is the perfect match for him, despite the data not lining up, and learns that one doesn’t find love—it finds them. Details have not yet been released about the plot or cast list, but the movie is under production by TriStar Pictures and is slated for release in May 2019.
8. ARTEMIS FOWL BY EOIN COLFER
Based on Eoin’s Colfer’s best-selling sci-fi fantasy series Artemis Fowl, Walt Disney Pictures brings fans the film of the same name focused on the first book of the series, published in 2001 by Viking Press. Artemis Fowl tells the story of a wealthy, intelligent, criminal mastermind named Artemis Fowl who discovers a hidden world of magic and falls into a battle against a powerful race of fairies who he suspects are behind his father’s disappearance. The cast includes Judi Dench, taking on the male role of Commander Root, Josh Gad as Mulch Diggu and Nonso Anozie as Butler. Artemis Fowl is slated to hit the big screen in August 2019.
9. THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS BY JOHN BELLAIRS
This spine-tingling fantasy children’s book written by John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey (published in 1973 by Puffin Books), tells the tale of 10-year-old orphan Lewis Barnavelt, played by Owen Vaccaro, who goes to live with his uncle, played by Jack Black. This large, creaky house becomes even more mysterious when Lewis discovers a tick-tock sound coming from inside the walls. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, he pulls this sleepy town into a secret world of warlocks and witches. Cate Blanchett also stars in this mystery thriller. The House with a Clock in its Walls, produced by Universal Pictures, is slated for a September release.
10. SHAFT BY ERNEST TIDYMAN
The original 1970s novel, published by Dynamite Entertainment, focuses on private eye John Shaft, who likes to kill and is recruited to find the sheltered daughter of Harlem’s crime honcho. This film continues the plot that was furthered in Shaft, Shaft’s Big Score!, and Shaft in Africa. In this latest film, Jesse T. Usher plays Shaft Jr., a cybersecurity expert for the FBI who seeks out a different kind of expertise from his absentee dad, John Shaft, after his best friend’s untimely death. The film also stars Alexandra Shipp, Regina Hall, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith. Shaft, from New Line Cinema and Davis Enterntainment, hits theaters in June 2019.
