4 Book-to-Screen Adaptations I’m Excited for in 2026—and 1 I’m Really Worried About

By my count, there are over a dozen books being adapted as movies and TV series this year. The genres are sweeping, including thrillers, period dramas, American classics and horror. Some of the most anticipated are The Devil Wears Prada 2, Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him and Verity and Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation. In this sea of tomes, here are five that caught my eye (including one I’m slightly worried about).

If you were delighted (and, perhaps, like me, mildly repulsed) by The Substance and consider Death Becomes Her a classic, then Ryan Murphy’s The Beauty will be of great interest. Based on the book of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, the story follows FBI agents Drew Foster and Kara Vaughn investigating a lethal STD (in the series, now a shot) known as “the Beauty.” Though deadly, it creates aesthetically pleasing side effects—so the question is, how far is one willing to go to be beautiful? The darkly comic world seems oddly prescient in this post-Ozempic era.

I love a good whodunnit, and Agatha Christie is the queen of the genre. She’s also no stranger to the screen, with works widely adapted or having inspired new projects. This year, The Seven Dials Mystery gets a makeover (it was previously adapted in 1981) in a three-part limited series starring Mia McKenna-Bruce and Helena Bonham Carter. The creators take liberties with Christie’s novel as Bundle Brent (Bruce) must solve the murder of her lover, who is found dead in bed surrounded by seven alarm clocks.

The only thing I was able to talk about in 2025 was Frankenstein. It’s one of my favorite classics, and Guillermo del Toro's Netflix adaptation was stunningly tender. In The Bride! directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Hamnet dynamo Jessie Buckley, Dr. Euphronious resurrects a murdered woman to serve as Frankenstein’s companion. As the movie promises that the Bride (Buckley) will unleash social change across 1930s Chicago, I’m keen to see this story with the female POV.

East of Eden doesn’t have a hard release date, but is scheduled to drop this year. The limited series stars Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist alongside an ensemble cast. Zoe Kazan directs—her grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1951 adaptation starring James Dean. Assuming the series is faithful to John Steinbeck’s novel, the story will follow two Salinas Valley families, the Trasks and Hamiltons, in a retelling of the Biblical saga of Cain and Abel. As a Californian, this is maybe my most anticipated adaptation, as I spent much time with my family in the places haunted by Steinbeck.

This is the adaptation of which I’m most weary. Emily Brontë is the Goth girl to Jane Austen’s lighthearted, carefree spirits, and the book itself is the epitome of dark romance. The book is a family saga, detailing the doomed romance between the orphaned, mysterious, brooding Heathcliff and the wealthy, beautiful Catherine Earnshaw as the former wreaks havoc on the latter’s family in revenge following her death. Trailers for the movie promise stunning visuals, but I’m not convinced about the casting or director Emerald Fennell. (Neither, it seems, are my fellow classic fans, who have lit up the comments.) I’ll be re-reading and then watching in cautious curiosity.