“How Has This Not Been Made Yet?”: 19 Books People Want To See Onscreen Adaptations Of ASAP (Plus Whether Or Not One Is In The Works)
Fiyin Olowokandi
7 min read
“How Has This Not Been Made Yet?”: 19 Books People Want To See Onscreen Adaptations Of ASAP (Plus Whether Or Not One Is In The Works)
A little while back, I asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community which books they most wanted to see get an onscreen adaptation. Here are 19 of their pitches, plus info on each book’s potential adaptation.
Submissions may have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1. “Uglies, Pretties, and Specials by Scott Westerfeld! It was such a great and unique series. They’re not necessarily the best books of all time, but I always thought they’d make such great movies.”
Scholastic Inc. / Via amazon.com—chubblesdog
Is it happening?
As of right now, no. In 2017, SyFy announced that they were going to produce a TV adaptation of the series, but according to a 2021 post on Stiefvater’s blog, she “amicably pulled the plug on it quite awhile ago.”
3. “The Poppy War books by R. F. Kuang could make for a really interesting series if done well! The books are so intricate that I think it would have to be a long series, and I would very much want any adaptation to stick closely to the storyline.”
Harper Voyager / Via amazon.com—rockieroad
Is it happening?
Deadline reported in 2020 that this series was developed into a television series by Starlight Media, but I wasn’t able to find any further updates about it.
4. “The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern! But I only want it animated. No live-action could ever capture the beauty described in that book.”
Anchor Books / Via amazon.com—SForsgren1
Is it happening?
In 2019, it was announced that Geremy Jasper would direct Lionsgate’s adaptation of The Night Circus. That seems to be the latest news about it, though.
5. “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini. It’s excellent, steadily paced, and a very exciting space adventure. It’s evocative of Firefly. There is a pig named Runcible on a spaceship. Need I say more?”
Tor Books / Via amazon.com—lackofpies
Is it happening?
Deadline reported in 2020 that this book was optioned to become a film by Made Up Stories and Snoot Entertainment, with Paolini and his sister Angela Paolini writing the screenplay, in addition to acting as executive producers.
6. “Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle. It’s a graphic novel that follows new girl Becca, who’s invited to join the popular clique in high school. She learns they are really werewolves, who on the full moon, hunt down boys that take advantage of girls. But when they start getting sloppy with their kills, their friendship and pack begin to fall apart.”
Greenwillow Books / Via amazon.com—monikap6
Is it happening?
According to this 2021 Hollywood Reporter article, Squad will be adapted by Lionsgate Television and Picturestart, who won the rights after an “eight-way bidding war.”
7. “The Wolf of Winter by Paula Volsky. It’s an awesome fantasy novel and probably my favorite fiction. I really think the visuals of the spells, ghosts, and necromancy would be amazing in CGI! Not to mention the strong female main character.”
Spectra / Via amazon.com—Alex F
Is it happening?
I was unable to find any news about an adaptation of this 1993 novel.
8. “Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Ryan Gosling was signed on to produce and star a while ago, but I haven’t heard anything recently.”
Ballantine Books / Via amazon.com—re89245
Is it happening?
Yup, Ryan Gosling is attached as star and producer to this MGM project, as of this 2020 Variety article. That’s the latest, though, in 2022, Weir tweeted that Emma Stone was attached to star. However, he confirmed in another tweet that he was just playing an April Fool’s prank.
9. “Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix is begging to be made into a series. It’s been optioned by HBO and I really hope they go through with it.”
Berkley / Via amazon.com—ThatOneElizabeth
Is it happening?
The latest on this adaptation seems to be from last year, when Deadline reported that HBO Max was developing the book as a series, a project led by Charlize Theron and siblings, Barbara Muschietti and Andy Muschietti, who brought both chapters of It to the big screen in 2017 and 2019 (as producer and director, respectively).
10. “My favorite book ever is The Binding by Bridget Collins. I would absolutely love to see this adaptation. Timothée Chalamet would make the perfect Lucian Darnay!”
William Morrow / Via amazon.com—katherinemarywalton
Is it happening?
I couldn’t find any news of an adaptation. Clearly, someone needs to get Timothée on the phone.
11. “Now more than ever: The Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman, which is a series about the aftermath of a civil war regarding abortion.”
S&S Books for Young Readers / Via amazon.com—SForsgren1
Is it happening?
Way back in 2012, Constantin Film got the movie rights to Unwind, and in 2016, Deadline announced that the movie had a director and cast attached. However, in 2018, Shusterman posted on his blog, “For a number of reasons, Constantin Films, who was developing Unwind as a movie, halted the project just short of production, and decided it would be better to do as a TV series. So right now they are developing it for TV.” And two years later, he tweeted that Unwind is “currently in development as a series,” which appears to be the most recent update.
12. “The American Royals series by Katharine McGee. It’s an interesting alternate world imagining of what would happen if America had its own royal family.”
Random House Books for Young Readers / Via amazon.com—xy8lu
Is it happening?
An adaptation doesn’t seem to be in development at the moment, but McGee answered a question about it through her Goodreads account two years ago. She wrote, “I’m so hopeful that American Royals will become a movie or TV show! … My LA agent is hard at work trying to make this happen — I’m keeping my fingers crossed. If there’s ever any news, I’ll share it ASAP on my social media handles at @katharinemcgee.”
13. “A novel called September by Rosamunde Pilcher. It was published in 1990 and is a perfect vehicle for Dame Judi Dench. I haven’t cast a male costar. Sweet book. If you’re not familiar with her work, you’ll do yourself a favor if you can read some of it.”
Rowohlt E-Book / Via amazon.com—bruce920
Is it happening?
There was a 1996 film adaptation of this novel, but it doesn’t seem like there are any plans for another one.
14. “I’m still sad that the Disney/Walden Chronicles of Narnia series stumbled so hard on Dawn Treader and didn’t keep going. I’ve spent decades wanting a big-screen take on The Horse and His Boy (particularly with Alex Kingston voicing Hwin, though don’t ask me why that bit of dream casting stuck so hard in my head).”
HarperCollins Publishers / Via barnesandnoble.com—dingospleen
Is it happening?
In 2021, Netflix’s Scott Stuber, who leads the streamer’s film pision, told The New York Times that a film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia was on the way.
15. “I think technology has come far enough that we could finally see The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey as a live-action series. Those books are SO good.”
Random House Worlds / Via barnesandnoble.com—InvasiveMage
Is it happening?
Back in 2014, Deadline reported that Warner Brothers had optioned the rights to the series, but since then, there hasn’t been any news about possible adaptations.
16. “The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. It’s been a childhood favorite series of mine for the longest time.”
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers / Via barnesandnoble.com—kendrakarnish
“Agree! It has so much potential to make a great TV show. It’s a pretty rich world as well, and they can do so much with it.”
—nederlinde2
Is it happening?
Twentieth Century Fox nabbed the movie rights in 2017, according to this The Hollywood Reporter article, but there haven’t been any updates since then.
17. “The Temeraire novels by Naomi Novik would be amazing. It’s a little bit Bridgerton, a little bit Game of Thrones, and a whole lot of Hornblower. Imagine Napoleonic battles fought by a squadron of dragon riders and their crew, all in period attire, with some Bridgerton-style drama thrown in. Also, if you’re not imagining Henry Cavill as Captain William Laurence, are you even a fantasy fan? This would be epic. How has this not been made yet?”
Random House Worlds / Via barnesandnoble.com—charliggy
Is it happening?
In 2022, Deadline reported that Fox was developing an adult animated series based on His Majesty’s Dragon, the first installment in the Temeraire series.
18. “As a TV series, the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown.”
Random House Worlds / Via barnesandnoble.com—Lunamyluna
Is it happening?
In 2014, Universal Pictures won a bidding war to secure the rights to Red Rising, but the project must have been dropped at some point, since Brown told the Orlando Sentinel in 2019 that he was developing the series as a TV show.
19. And finally: “I’d love to see The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall adapted into a mini-series. More queer representation, please!”
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group / Via barnesandnoble.com—sissyhankshawsthumbs
Is it happening?
There doesn’t seem to be any upcoming adaptation of this 1928 novel.
Which story do you hope to see in theaters or on TV in the near future? Tell us about them in the comments!
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