Books Becoming Movies and TV Shows in 2026 and Beyond (Classics Edition)

The Odyssey by Homer

July 17, theater release, directed by Christopher Nolan.

My husband and I don’t get to the movie theater very often at this stage in our lives, but we never miss a Nolan film! (In fact, I think the last time we did go to the theater it was for Oppenheimer.) He’s a master storyteller and artist, innovating his craft while also honoring great films of the past. His rendition of the Odyssey will star Matt Damon as the voyager Odysseus and Anne Hathaway as his wife Penelope. Tom Holland (aka Spider Man) will play their son Telemachus, while Zendaya (aka Spider Man’s girlfriend) will be the goddess Athena. Other notable cast members include Charlize Theron (Circe), Lupita Nyong’o, and Robert Pattinson.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

February 13, 2026 theatrical release, written and directed by Emerald Fennell.

Cast for this adaptation include Margot Robbie as Catherine, Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton, and Hong Chau as Nelly Dean.

Emily Brontë’s bleak masterpiece has been adapted for film many, many times. Unfortunately, it’s missed the mark many times, too. We have a number of home runs with Jane Austen adaptations, and even a couple of great Jane Eyre versions. Why is it so hard to get a good Wuthering Heights? Although I’m happy they’re trying again, I already have my doubts about this version because I see that the younger generation of Hareton, Cathy, and Linton are not even included in the cast list! These characters and the “third act” of the story they inhabit are absolutely essential. You have to take Wuthering Heights as a whole or it loses its full power. I can understand barring Lockwood from the cast (although he, too, is there for a reason), but no third generation? Inconceivable!

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis

November 26 (theatrical release), December 25 (Netflix release). Written and directed by Greta Gerwig.

This never-filmed and long-promised adaptation of the first chronological book in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis finally has a release date! If you want to see it in theaters, you’ll have to do your homework, as it will only be showing in a handful of IMAX theaters. But at least it will show–Greta Gerwig has some clout after directing Little Women and Barbie, and successfully negotiated with Netflix.

The Magician’s Nephew will star Daniel Craig as the magician and new actor David McKenna as the nephew, Digory. Other roles include Emma Mackey as Jadis, Carey Mulligan as Digory’s mother, and Meryl Streep as the voice of the lion Aslan. (I just hope Aslan still has a mane!)

Netflix has a deal with the C. S. Lewis Company to produce multiple films and TV shows based on the Narnia books. These could all look extremely different from the books; apparently The Magician’s Nephew film will be set in the 1950s, instead of in 1900 as it is in the novel. Which of course means that the later stories like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will have a 1990s or 2000s setting! I’m sure this will not upset Narnia lovers one bit. Aren’t we lucky that filmmakers have such a good read on what fans want?

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Date TBA, Netflix release. Directed by Sarah Adina Smith.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiographical frontier novels will be adapted as an ongoing TV series; filming began in June, 2025 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The books were previously very loosely adapted in the beloved Little House on the Prairie TV series that ran for nine seasons between 1974 to 1983, and in a 2005 Disney miniseries.

This new series will feature Australian actor Luke Bracey as Pa Ingalls, Crosby Fitzgerald as Ma Ingalls, and ten-year-old Alice Halsey as Laura. The series writer, Rebecca Sonnenshine, has been a lifelong fan of the books since she was five years old, and Netflix is pitching this as a “wholesome and heartwarming” show that will explore “themes of hope and optimism.” From what (admittedly little) I’ve seen about this show, I’m feeling hopeful and optimistic myself! I’m currently reading through the series with my kids, and I’d love to show this to them if it hits the mark!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Date TBA, Netflix release. Directed by Euros Lyn, written by Dolly Alderton.

Netflix released a fluffy adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion in 2022. Despite its failure to impress critics or fans, they’ll be having another go at Austen in a six-episode Pride and Prejudice adaptation which is currently in production. The cast includes Emma Corrin (the younger Diana from The Crown) as Elizabeth, Jack Lowden as Darcy, Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet, and Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet, and Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley from Harry Potter) as Lady Catherine! I can’t wait to see Colman as Mrs. Bennet, and I’m intrigued by the Sewell and Shaw casting.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Date TBA, theatrical release. Directed by Georgia Oakley, written by Diana Reid.

So there’s not one, but two Jane Austen adaptations currently in the works. And both include Fiona Shaw among the cast! In this version she’ll play Mrs. Jennings. The show’s leads include Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor, Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne, George MacKay as Edward Ferrars, Herbert Nordrum as Colonel Brandon, and Frank Dillane as Willoughby. Personally, I don’t know who any of these leads are except for Edgar-Jones, but I think she’ll do a fantastic job as Elinor.

This upcoming Sense and Sensibility will be distributed to the big screen by Focus Features, with Working Title Films as a producer. I mention this specifically because this same duo gave us the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and the 2020 Emma, both of which are top-shelf Austen adaptations. So, this is one of the upcoming book-to-movie adaptations that I am more confident and excited about!

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Date TBA, AMC release. Directed by Rolin Jones.

Although I’m not literate in Steinbeck, I’m very interested in this adaptation…and what will follow. Apparently The Grapes of Wrath will be the first season in an ongoing anthology series titled “Great American Stories,” each of which will feature a “different celebrated work, historical moment, or individual narrative celebrating and highlighting the American spirit,” according to AMC Networks. AMC president also noted “Our country is built upon so many unforgettable historic and dramatic moments, tales of bravery and courage, classic novels, short stories, and chronicles well known and never-before-told. As a network that began its life as American Movie Classics, this is the franchise we’re destined to bring to the screen.”

There’s so many things I’d like to see them make, that I think would be gold: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Huckleberry Finn, a Sarah Orne Jewett season (this could be a sort of cozy drama à la All Creatures Great and Small), a season of Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories, another of Ambrose Bierce, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O’Connor, and Eudora Welty, just for starters. There’s just so many great American stories and authors that rarely (or never) get adapted, probably in part because we don’t have an equivalent of the BBC that produces “in house” period dramas.

Casting for The Grapes of Wrath has yet to be finalized. The series will be available to watch on the AMC cable channel, on AMC+ streaming, and on Amazon Prime Video Channels (a separate add-on to normal Prime Video).

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Date TBA, Netflix release. Written and produced by Zoe Kazan.

And yes, another Steinbeck! Not connected to the AMC franchise, this family saga novel will be made into a seven-part limited series staring Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask, Joseph Zada as Cal, Joe Anders as Aron, Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton, and Hoon Lee as Lee. Writer Zoe Kazan’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the original 1955 film.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Date TBA, Netflix release. Directed by Emma Frost.

A few years ago we were promised an Edith Wharton adaptation, but it got axed. (It was going to be an Apple TV+ miniseries of The Custom of the Country, directed by Sofia Coppola.) I’m still bitter about that, although not as sad about the lost Sarah Snook Persuasion. Well, I guess we’ll still get some Wharton on our screens! The cast has yet to be announced, but director Emma Frost does have some experience with adapting classic stories, writing for Jamaica Inn and The Man in the High Castle.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Date TBA, theatrical release. Written and directed by Robert Eggers.

This feels like déjà vu, but we’ve got another Christmas Carol movie coming up. This is probably the most adapted literary work of all time, wouldn’t you say? Robert Eggers will write and direct this big-screen version, with William Dafoe rumored to play Ebenezer Scrooge. I endorse that casting choice.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Date TBA, BBC release. Written by Jack Thorne, directed by Marc Munden.

This adaption of Golding’s dystopian castaway story will be released as four 60-minute episodes, filmed in Malaysia and the U.K. David McKenna (who’s also playing Digory in the upcoming Magician’s Nephew) will play Piggy. Lox Pratt (also playing Draco Malfoy in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter) will play Jack, and new actors Winston Sawyers as Ralph and Ike Talbut as Simon. I’m looking forward to watching this, partly because Lord of the Flies is an excellent and terrifying book, and partly because Hans Zimmer will co-write the score! (You probably know so many of his scores: The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dune, and a bunch of Nolan films!)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Date TBA, PBS Masterpiece release. Directed by Bille August.

This is an English-language adaptation of Dumas’ classic work, produced by French and Italian film companies, and already broadcast in some European countries. The 8-part miniseries will come to U.S. audiences via PBS Masterpiece sometime in 2026. The cast includes Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantès and Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria.

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

Date TBA, Netflix release. Written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Chris Sweeney.

I’m thrilled that this particular Christie mystery is getting filmed: it was the first Agatha Christie book I read, and one of the novels I credit with helping me fall in love with British literature. Mia McKenna-Bruce and Edward Bluemel will star as the amateur sleuths Bundle and Jimmy Thesiger, with Helen Bonham-Carter as Lady Caterham, and Martin Freeman as Battle. At first I was not sure about Freeman being Battle, but I think it might actually work. I just don’t want him acting like a bemused Bilbo for this! Mia McKenna-Bruce was one of the best things about the Netflix Persuasion (she played Mary), so I can’t wait to see her in this!

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Date TBA, BBC/BritBox release. Written by Sarah Phelps.

Less whodunnit, more psychological drama, this late Christie standalone is another one of my top favourites of her novels. I’m in good company–it was one of Christie’s own favorites, and her grandson Matthew Prichard’s top pick as well. Prichard said that the young adults in the novel were inspired by people of his own generation in the 1960s, and that he was impressed by his grandmother’s ability to portray them so well. This adaptation will be a three-part series, with cast yet to be announced.

Tommy and Tuppence by Agatha Christie

Date TBA, BritBox release. Written by Phoebe Eclair-Powell.

This one’s going to be a bit different: Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence short stories and novels are being made into a 6-part series, set in modern times. Antonia Thomas will play Tuppence, Josh Dylan will play Tommy, and Imelda Stuanton will be Aunt Ada.

Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

Date TBA.

We have almost zero information about this yet, but James Prichard of Agatha Christie Ltd. has promised Marple will be returning to screens for the first time in over a decade! There are twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories, so this could be an ongoing series similar to the Joan Hickson BBC series or the ITV Geraldine McEwan/Julia McKenzie series.