7 Books to Read Before Their Movie Adaptations Premiere in 2024

When it comes to adapting books into movies, there’s often a bit of controversy leading up to the film, during its run, and afterward. It’s not as good as the book. It changed too much. It can’t compete because there’s too much to explore in a single movie. Inner dialogue and narration are not synonymous, and the effect is different. The casting doesn’t fit the novel’s character descriptions. The list goes on and on. You’ve heard all the arguments, but the conversations continue anyway. Yet, it’s no fun when you can’t engage in such discourse (no matter how overly debated such topics may be). So, before these movies come out, be sure to head to your local bookstore and snag a copy of the source material. 

‘It Ends With Us’ | February 9, 2024

It Ends With Us — a romantic drama starring Blake Lively, Brandon Sklenar, Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, and Hasan Minhaj — is based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover published in 2016. Hoover once described the work as “the hardest book I’ve ever written,” which is no surprise given the heartwrenching premise. 

The story follows recent graduate Lily Bloom who moves to Boston with the hopes of opening a floral shop following her father’s death. She recently gave his eulogy, but his place in her heart isn’t exactly untainted. He was abusive toward her mother, who kept the abuse secret. This led Lily to resent them both. As she reads through her childhood diary, reliving her pre-adolescence, she remembers her first love Atlas Corrigan, who left to join the military but promised to return to her. While wrestling with difficult feelings, she meets love interest, Ryle Kincaid. He seems like the perfect man, but the situation quickly takes a dark turn. 

‘Mickey17’ (‘Micky7′) | March 29, 2024

Mickey17 is an upcoming science fiction story from the Academy Award-winning director behind Parasite Bong Joon-Ho. The film, based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashtion, follows expendable space explorer Mickey Barnes (who will be portrayed by Robert  Pattinson) on a near-certain death expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. When one Mickey dies, another is cloned in his place with most of his memories intact, rendering the man virtually immortal. The upcoming sci-fi saga that seems bound to explore what it means to be human (and the relationship between life and death) also stars Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, and Naomi Ackie. 

‘Wicked’ | November 27, 2024 

The upcoming Wicked movie starring Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West) is based on the mega-successful still-running Broadway musical of the same name. However, said Broadway musical is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Many differences exist between the book and the musical. The settings are different and the play visits more locations; however, the book has more characters. The play also vastly altered Fiyero’s identity from a foreign prince to Elphaba’s secret lover. 

The two works memorably boast vastly different thematic undertones, with the novel focused predominantly on animal rights and equality, while the musical stresses themes of friendship, prejudice and discrimination, unsubstantiated judgment, and redemption. Given that the movie will be a musical like the stage adaptation, it will presumably veer closer to its musical predecessor, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the novel’s characters and undertones. Jon M. Chu directs the upcoming film with a screenplay from Winnie Holzman. 

‘Argylle’ | February 2, 2024 

The Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard-led Argylle is based on the novel of the same name by Elly Conway. The book, which has yet to be released, is a globe-spanning spy thriller evoking the likes of Bourne and Bond. A missing treasure lost for decades. A train speeding toward Moscow. A Nazi hoard entombed in the remote mountains of Poland. This story’s got it all…plus a cat destined to give us some laughs (based on the trailer). The action thriller is bound to be a high-octane ride with some slapstick and witty banter mixed in. Matthew Vaughn directs with a script from Jason Fuchs. 

‘The Watchers’ | June 7, 2024

The Watchers follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), a 28-year-old artist who winds up stranded in an extensive forest in Western Ireland. She finds shelter, yet becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are stalked by mysterious creatures each night. In the novel, she resides in a room full of glass, where she is caged like a zoo animal for gawking at. Mina will not rest until she finds out who these “Watchers” are and what they want. The horror mystery film is based on the novel of the same name by A.M. Shine with director Ishana Shyamalan (M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter) at the helm. 

‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ | August 2, 2024

Who could forget the classic 1955 children’s book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson about a young boy who, with his magical purple crayon, can create a world of his own just by drawing it? With nowhere to walk, he can draw a path. With no way to see, he can draw a moon. All the adventures imaginable — dragons and hot-air balloons — are at the tip of his crayon. While it’s unclear how closely the movie will follow the book, it will be a live-action interpretation from Director Carlos Saldhana starring Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Lil Rey Howery, Brady Ryan, and Tanya Reynolds. 

‘The Idea of You’ | 2024

Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine of Red, White & Royal Blue opposite one another in a romantic drama…sold. Based on the novel by Robinne Lee, the Prime Video original follows a May-December romance between a single mother and a Harry Styles-esque heartthrob, Hayes Campbell. He’s the lead singer of a boyband. She’s a recently divorced mother who catches his eye at Coachella. What begins as an innocent fling becomes a much deeper tale of love. However, will his fame and the unbridled attention surrounding their relationship, be too much to bear? Michael Showalter directs with a screenplay he co-wrote alongside Lee and Jennifer Westfeldt.