Whether you’re the one to devour books like they’re going out of style or prefer to savour their film adaptations instead, 2023 comes bearing gifts for all. With a variety of book-to-seen adaptations all set to hit the theatres, the latter group is in for a visual delight while the former group is rewarded the smug satisfaction of saying “I read the book first”.
Here are 10 book-to-screen adaptations we can’t wait to experience this year:
1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
A prequel to the events that occur in the Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes is all set to transport us to the time before Coriolanus Snow became the president of Panem. The film will follow his 18-year-old self as he mentors a District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird.
Release date: 17 November 2023
Star cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Burn Gorman, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis.
2. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
If you’re a fan of the true crime genre, this one’s for you. Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and tells the story of the brutal murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the ‘Reign of Terror’.
Release date: May 2023
Star cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser, Lily Gladstone.
3. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer based on the book American Prometheus follows the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he works with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the atomic bomb.
Release date: 21 July 2023
Star cast: Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek.
4. Text for You by Sofie Cramer
Catch Priyanka Chopra in Love Again, the film adaptation of Text for You by Sofie Cramer that follows a young woman as she tries to ease the pain of her fiancé’s death by sending texts to his old cell phone number. Unknowingly, she forms a connection with the man to who the number has been reassigned.
Release date: 12 May 2023
Star cast: Priyanka Chopra, Sam Heughan, Celine Dion, Russell Tovey, Lydia West.
5. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Leave The World Behind is a psychological thriller that narrates a gripping story about two families who are forced together on a long weekend as they fight for survival amid an unexpected and inexplicable blackout.
Release date: 8 December 2023
Star cast: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Kevin Bacon.
6. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Allow A Man Called Otto to tug at your heartstrings. Based on the New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, the film tells the story of a grumpy widower who meets his match in quick-witted pregnant woman Marisol leading to an unexpected friendship.
Release date: 10 February 2023
Star cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.
7. Dune by Frank Herbert
This year, Dune: Part Two continues with the story of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must make a decision and prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Release date: 3 November 2023
Star cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Rebecca Ferguson.
8. Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
A sequel to Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, this year, Hallowe’en Party’s screen adaptation A Haunting In Venice is all set to send shivers down your spine. Set after World War Two, the story sees detective Hercule Poirot living in self-imposed exile in Italy where he reluctantly attends a seance. When one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
Release date: 15 September 2023
Star cast: Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Kelly Reilly.
9. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Based on The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin is an apocalyptic psychological horror film that follows the journey of a family taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand they make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse.
Release date: 3 February 2023
Star cast: Rupert Grint, Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge
10. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones & The Six, based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an upcoming TV mini-series on Prime video that follows the story of the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group on their quest for worldwide icon status and the mystery behind their infamous breakup.
Release date: 3 March 2023
Star cast: Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Nabiyah Be, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse.
