COMING BLOCKBUSTERS THAT MAY BE BETTER THAN THE BESTSELLERS
▶ As the pen and page continue to provide popular source material for Hollywood, there are dozens of screen adaptations on the way. Maan Jalal rounds up 12, with many already tipped for greater success
The End We Start From
As a strange environmental disaster submerges London in water, a woman gives birth to a child.
Based on the thrilling dystopian novel by Megan Hunter, The End We Start From has been adapted into a film with Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game).
The story follows the unnamed mother and her baby as they are forced to leave their home and seek shelter as the world drastically changes around them. Out now in UAE cinemas
Queenie
The novel by Candice Carty-Williams received critical and commercial success after its 2019 release. It follows Queenie, a Jamaican-British woman living in London who is attempting to figure out both her career and love life after a messy break-up.
The bestselling novel has been adapted into an eight-part drama series with Carty-Williams as screenwriter. It will star relatively unknown actress Dionne Brown as Queenie.
Release date: TBC on Channel 4 in the UK, Hulu in the US and Disney+ in other countries
It Ends With Us
From one of the most prolific writers today, Colleen Hoover’s romance novel It Ends with Us sold more than a million copies when it was released in 2016.
The story follows Lily who, after leaving her hometown for Boston to start her own business, believes she’s found true love with Ryle. Despite his shortcomings, Ryle makes Lily feel special. Simultaneously, Atlas, a man from her past, returns and complicates her life and feelings.
The film adaptation stars Blake Lively. Release date: February 9 in cinemas
Spaceman of Bohemia
Jaroslav Kalfar’s novel Spaceman of Bohemia was praised on the back of sparking philosophical conversations about love, life and death between an astronaut and an ancient giant spider in the depths of space.
The film adaptation, starring Adam Sandler, follows the same premise of the novel, in which an astronaut, Jakub Prochazka, is sent to the edge of the galaxy to collect mysterious dust.
During his mission, Prochazka realises his life on Earth is falling apart, mainly due to his own ambitions, and he finds solace in a strange voice – a creature in the shadows of his ship who will help him make sense of it all.
Release date: March 1 on Netflix
Dune: Part Two
The sequel to the Academy Award-winning sci-fi space opera Dune will be released this year.
Based on Frank Herbert’s epic novel, this is the third big-screen adaptation and arguably the most successful.
The film stars Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, who arrives on Arrakis after his father accepts the stewardship of the dangerous, arid planet. However, Arrakis is also home to melange, a substance that extends life, enhances mental abilities and is a necessary component for space navigation. In part two, Paul must make alliances with the Fremen, while discovering his own destiny. Release date: March 14 in cinemas
Mickey7
Acclaimed South Korean writer and director Bong Joon-ho, known for his Academy Award-winning satire Parasite, has taken on the adaptation of the popular speculative sci-fi novel by Edward Ashton.
It centres on the story of an expendable space traveller Mickey Barnes, known as Mickey7 (played by Robert Pattinson). Barnes is a space traveller sent on a dangerous mission to colonise the ice world of Niflheim.
In this world, cloning technology is so advanced that when Mickey dies, another version of him is cloned with his memories intact. This makes him the perfect immortal soldier to complete any mission.
However, when his latest regeneration goes wrong, Mickey7’s mission and life are put at risk.
Release date: March 29 in cinemas in the US and UK
Bridgerton
Fans of one of the most popular period dramas are getting the season they have been asking for – the love story of Lady Whistledown, and Colin Bridgerton.
This season is based on author Julia Quinn’s fourth novel from her Bridgerton series, Romancing Mr Bridgerton, and will be released in two parts, each containing four episodes. Fans can expect more ballroom dances, salacious gossip and character development wrapped in a love story. Release date: Part one on May 16; part two on June 13 on Netflix
Turtles All the Way Down
When John Green’s novel for young adult novels was released in 2017, it soared to number one on The New York Times’ bestseller list. It was praised by critics as a modern classic.
The story follows Aza, 16, who struggles with OCD and intrusive thoughts. As she grapples with the grief of losing her father, she sets off in search of the fugitive billionaire father of her neighbour Davis, with whom she forms an unlikely and strong bond along the way.
The film adaptation will star Isabela Merced and Felix Mallard.
Release date: TBC in cinemas
The Three-Body Problem
The first novel in the sci-fi trilogy by Chinese author Liu Cixin is a story that blends action with social and philosophical concepts.
The story begins during a cultural revolution in China that leads to secret military project signals being sent into space. Those signals are received by an alien civilisation from a nearby system that has three suns. The civilisation, which is on the edge of destruction, uses the signals to find and invade Earth, setting off a series of events that will change the future for ever. Release date: March 21 on Netflix
The Color Purple
This is the second screen adaptation of author Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple after Steven Spielberg’s 1985 blockbuster. The latest stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P Henson and Danielle Brooks.
The film centres on Celie Harris-Johnson, who is separated from her sister and married off to an abusive husband. As she starts writing letters to God and her sister, Celie makes new friends with the singer Shug Avery and her strong-willed stepdaughter Sophia, and gathers the strength to fight back, find her sister and discover herself.
Release date: February 8 in cinemas
Wicked Part 1
Are you ready to defy gravity? Perhaps one of the most anticipated films of the year, Wicked starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, already has a large fan base owing to the success of the Broadway musical show.
It follows an alternate story of Elphaba Thropp, also known as The Wicked Witch of the West, in The Wizard of Oz.
Elphaba, a woman born with green skin, forms an unlikely friendship with Galinda Upland, the most popular woman at Shiz University, which they both attend to learn sorcery. They share a bond that is put to the test as the battle for their homeland of Oz begins.
Release date: November 27 in cinemas
Ripley
It’s the 1960s in New York and Tom Ripley, a conman among other things, is hired by the wealthy Mr Greenleaf to convince his fun-loving son Dickie to return home from Italy. However, when Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie’s lavish life and friends, he goes down a sinister road to remain part of this intimate clique.
The psychological thriller is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr Ripley and the Ripley novel series. The eight-episode series will delve more into the details of the novel and will star Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning.
Release date: TBC on Netflix