A great story is priceless. And in an age when Hollywood is reticent to make wholly original movies (see: the four dozen superhero movies released in the last decade), great books are as good as gold.
The number of literary adaptations we see on the big screen seems to get bigger every year. Why? For studios, they're a safer bet, with built-in audiences and plots ready to go. But more importantly, there's the fact that literary writers are some of the most imaginative storytellers there are — they're talented at fusing rich characters, intricate plots, and resonant themes into masterful page-turners. And with the right people behind and in front of the camera, those novels can be turned into fantastic films.
We've already seen a number of movies based on books hit the big screen this year, like Allegiant and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. But there are nearly 20 more titles to get excited about in 2016. From Paula Hawkin's mystery thriller Girl on the Train starring Emily Blunt, to Sam Munson's The November Criminals starring Ansel Elgort and Chloë Grace Moretz, here are 25 of 2016's most highly anticipated book-to-movie adaptations.
The 5th Wave
Released in January
Based On: The YA novel by Rick Yancey
What It's About: A girl teams up with a mysterious stranger on her quest to reunite with her brother, as the extinction of the human race is spurred by alien attacks, disease, and natural disaster.
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Alex Roe, Nick Robinson
How to Be Single
Released in February
Based On: The novel by Liz Tuccillo
What It's About: A college grad decides she needs a break from her longterm boyfriend and moves to NYC, where her crazy coworker shows her how fun single life can be.
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann
The Choice
Released in February
Based On: The romance novel by Nicolas Sparks
What It's About: A ladies' man falls for his new next-door neighbor, a spunky med student — with a serious boyfriend.
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Alexandra Daddario, Maggie Grace
Allegiant
Released in March
Based On: The first half of of the final book in Veronica Roth's YA Divergent trilogy
What It's About: Tris and Four finally venture beyond the wall around Chicago and learn shocking truths about the outside world, as the battle for humanity rages on.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Octavia Spencer, Zoë Kravitz
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Released in March
Based On: The memoir The Taliban Shuffle by Kim Barker
What It's About: A TV news producer takes an assignment in Afghanistan, plopping her right in the middle of a risky war zone where she gets to know other journalists.
Starring: Tina Fey, Martin Freeman, Margot Robbie, Billy Bob Thornton
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Out now
Based On: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
What It's About: The sequel to Alice in Wonderland follows Alice's journey back to Underland to save the Mad Hatter.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
The Jungle Book
Out now
Based On: The story collection by Rudyard Kipling
What It's About: An orphaned boy named Mowgli comes into his own with the help of his forest guardians.
Starring: Neel Sethi and the voices of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken
Me Before You
In theaters now
Based On: The romance by Jojo Moyes
What It's About: l A quadripilegic man who wants to end his life falls in love with his caretaker.
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Jenna Coleman
The Legend of Tarzan
Out July 1
Based On: The character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Tarzan series
What It's About: Years after moving to London to live with Jane, Tarzan is called to return to his home in the jungle.
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Out July 8
Based On: The memoir by Mike and Dave Stangle
What It's About: Two reckless American bros need to find dates for their sister's wedding...but the women they bring aren't who they expected.
Starring: Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza
The BFG
Out July 22
Based On: The children's book by Roald Dahl
What It's About: A big, friendly (and old) giant kidnaps an orphan girl to keep him company on his adventure to Giant Country.
Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, Rebecca Hall
Into the Forest
Out July 22
Based On: The apocalyptic novel by Jean Hegland
What It's About: In the near future, two sisters living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere discover that the outside world is on the brink of an apocalypse and fight for their lives.
Starring: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella
Nerve
Out August 12
Based On: The YA thriller by Jeanne Ryan
What It's About: A high school student gets teamed up with a mysterious stranger for a popular online game of truth or dare that begins to blur the lines between the real and the virtual.
Starring: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Juliette Lewis, Kimiko Glenn
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Out September 30
Based On: The YA novel by Ransom Riggs
What It's About: After the murder of his grandfather, a young boy goes to the orphanage where his grandpa once lived, and where the strange residents and time itself are not quite what they seem.
Starring: Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson, Rupert Everett, Judi Dench, Allison Janney
The Girl on the Train
Out October 7
Based On: The psychological thriller by Paula Hawkins
What It's About: Rachel Watson wakes up hungover and battered, with no memory of the night before. But she believes she witnessed a terrible crime involving a missing woman.
Starring: Emily Blunt, Laura Prepon, Luke Evans, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux
Inferno
Out October 14
Based On: The fourth book in the mystery thriller series by Dan Brown
What It's About: The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons ' Robert Langdon races against time to recover from memory loss, evade the manhunt for him, and solve a complex new mystery.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Out November 11
Based On: The award-winning war novel by Ben Fountain
What It's About: A young soldier returns home from Iraq for a disingenuous victory tour — involving a Super Bowl halftime show performance — that obscures the reality of war from the American public.
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, Joe Alwyn
The Lost City of Z
Release date TBC
Based On: The historical nonfiction book by David Grann
What It's About: An early-20th-century British explorer ventures into the Amazon to find a mythical civilisation — and is never seen again.
Starring: Tom Holland, Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller
Queen of Katwe
Release Date TBC
Based On: The biography by Tim Crothers
What It's About: This extraordinary true story is about the journey of a young girl who becomes a Ugandan chess prodigy and competes worldwide.
Starring: Lupita Nyongo, David Oyelowo
The Light Between Oceans
Release date TBC
Based On: The novel by M.L. Stedman
What It's About: A lighthouse keeper and his wife living on the Australian coast after WWI rescues a washed-up baby and adopts her as their own — with unforeseen consequences down the line.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz
The Circle
Release date TBC
Based On: The dystopian technology thriller by Dave Eggers
What It's About: A new employee at a powerful technology company loves her new job, until she starts uncovering the dark realities of her firm's omnipotent operating system.
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, John Boyega
American Pastoral
Release date TBC
Based On: The novel by Philip Roth
What It's About: In postwar America, a succesful Jewish businessman from New Jersey sees his life and family threatened by his daughter's new political dalliances.
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly, Ewan McGregor, Uzo Aduba
The November Criminals
Release date TBC
Based On: The novel by Sam Munson
What It's About: An ambitious high school grad living in D.C. investigates the senseless murder of one of his classmates.
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Chloë Grace Moretz, Catherine Keener
Brain on Fire
Release date TBC
Based On: The memoir by Susannah Cahalan
What It's About: A woman battles a month of mysteriously and rapidly deteriorating health, ranging from violent behaviour to catatonia.
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Jenny Slate, Tyler Perry, Carrie-Anne Moss
Silence
Release date TBC
Based On: The novel by Shusaku Endo
What It's About: In the 17th century, two Jesuit Portuguese missionaries travel to Japan to minister to outlawed Christians.
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson
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