On the book-to-film adaptation front, 2017 brought us movies like Call Me By Your Name, It, and Wonder. Let's see what's on the horizon for 2018.
10. The Little Stranger (August 31)
Sarah Waters's thoroughly creepy gothic novel, which was a finalist for the Booker and one of PW's best books of 2009, is a natural fit for a film adaptation (another of her novels, Fingersmith, was the basis of Park Chan-Wook’s The Handmaiden), and this year will see Lenny Abrahamson (director of Room) bring it to the big screen. In the summer of 1947, Farady (Domhnall Gleeson), a country doctor, is called to care for a patient at Hundreds Hall, the declining estate where his mother once worked. There, he becomes involved with the Ayers family, who may be haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life. The movie co-stars Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, and Charlotte Rampling.
9. Fahrenheit 451 (TBA)
First adapted as a film in 1966 by François Truffaut, Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel will see another version this year on HBO, directed by Ramin Bahrani. In a dystopian world, fireman Montag (Michael B. Jordan) questions his job burning books and battles his mentor Beatty (Michael Shannon). HBO has released a teaser trailer for the movie.
8. Red Sparrow (March 2)
In this spy thriller based on Jason Matthews's novel, Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a former Russian ballerina forced into a Russian intelligence program in order to get her mother medical care. She falls for an American mole in Russia (Joel Edgerton), whom she is tasked with exposing. Directed by Francis Lawrence (who directed three of the four Hunger Games movies), the film co-stars Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Charlotte Rampling. A trailer has been released here.
7. Annihilation (February 23)
This sci-fi film, based on Jeff VanderMeer's 2014 novel (the first of his Southern Reach trilogy), is about a biologist (Natalie Portman) joining an expedition to find her missing husband (Oscar Isaac) in an environmental disaster zone (the less you know, the better). The cast also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and David Gyasi. Alex Garland (Ex Machina) is directing. The movie's trailer is available here.
6. Crazy Rich Asians (August 17)
Based on Kevin Kwan's bestselling novel, the film follows American-born Chinese economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), who travels with her boyfriend, Nick (Henry Golding), to Singapore for his best friend's wedding. There, she finds out Nick comes from an extremely wealthy family and that he's a very sought-after bachelor. The ensemble cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Harry Shum Jr., Awkwafina, Jimmy O. Yang, and Gemma Chan.
5. The Sisters Brothers (TBA)
Patrick deWitt's ridiculously fun buddy western, a finalist for the Booker and one of PW's best books of 2011, is getting an adaptation by Jacques Audiard (A Prophet). Set in the 1850s, the story follows two notorious assassin brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters (John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix), who are hired to kill prospector Hermann Kermit Warm (Jake Gyllenhaal) by their boss, the Commodore (Rutger Hauer). Much delightful chaos ensues. The film costars Riz Ahmed as Warm's partner, Morris, and Carol Kane as Mrs. Sisters.
4. Where'd You Go, Bernadette (May 11)
Richard Linklater (the Before trilogy; Boyhood) will direct this adaptation of Maria Semple's bestselling novel, with Cate Blanchett in the title role. After her anxiety-ridden mother, Bernadette, disappears, 15-year-old Bee does everything she can to track her down, discovering her troubled past in the process. The movie co-stars Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, Laurence Fishburne, Troian Bellisario, and James Urbaniak.
3. Ready Player One (March 30)
In 2045, people are obsessed with a pop-culture-aping virtual reality world called OASIS. Teenager Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) embarks on a treasure hunt for the fortune of the world’s creator. Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance also star. The film, based on Ernest Cline's bestseller (Cline also co-wrote the movie), is directed by Steven Spielberg. Watch the trailer here.
2. A Wrinkle in Time (March 9)
Ava DuVernay's (13th; Selma) adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's classic comes with a budget over $100 million, so expect lots of great visuals when it hits IMAX screens in March. After learning her astrophysicist father (Chris Pine) is being held captive on a distant planet deep in the grip of a universe-spanning evil, Meg Murry (Storm Reid) works with her younger brother, her classmate, and three astral travelers (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling) to save him.
1. If Beale Street Could Talk (TBA)
James Baldwin's estate has put its support behind this adaptation of Baldwin's 1974 novel, written and directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). Jenkins, who is also slated to adapt Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, was working on the script for Beale Street when he was working on Moonlight, and he's again working with a number of key Moonlight personnel, including James Laxton as director of photography, and Joi McMillan and Nat Sanders as editors. The story follows Clementine "Tish" Rivers (Kiki Layne), a woman in Harlem desperately scrambling to prove her fiancé (Stephan James) innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. The film co-stars Brian Tyree Henry, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Regina King as Tish's mother, and Colman Domingo as Tish's father. Expect it to arrive during award season.