Since 2020, more production companies have moved to a hybrid model of release. For some movies, limited theatrical release means more bookworms will get to see their favorite characters on the big screen. Then, enjoy the same movie again in the comfort of your own home with jammies and unlimited snacks a few weeks later. Technology is amazing. Editor’s note: There are not as many adaptations of books written by authors of color coming out as we would hope for. This speaks to the larger issues of not only a lack of diversity in the publishing world, but also how film producers have less confidence in the marketability of adaptations of books written by authors of color.
2023 Adaptations
Where to Watch: Netflix Release Date: January 4, 2023 In the depth of winter, run away to 1990s Naples with this Italian miniseries adaptation of Ferrante’s 2019 novel. After being compared to her aunt Vittoria, whom her father despises, 12-year old Giovanna seeks to the truth for herself. Where to Watch: Netflix (and select theaters) Release Date: January 6, 2023 Let the fog roll in before you press play. Set in 1830s New York, this gothic horror mystery will keep you on your toes. Augustus Landor, a former police detective, is called in when the body of a West Point cadet is found without the heart. Aided by another cadet, Edgar Allan Poe, Landor work together to uncover the dark truth. The film adaptation stars Christian Bale as Landor and Harry Melling as Edgar Allan Poe. Where to Watch: AMC and AMC+ Release Date: January 8, 2023 This trilogy chronicles the lives of the Mayfair family of New Orleans. Guided by the evil spirit, Lasher, the Mayfairs hold their fortune close and their sins closer. The television series follows the 2022 TV adaptation of Rice’s Interview With The Vampire. Where to Watch: In Theaters Release Date: January 13, 2023 Tom Hanks Stars as Otto in the American adaptation version of A Man Called Ove, the 2012 international bestseller. Curmudgeonly Otto is tired of his life and wishes to be left alone. Too bad his neighbors won’t stop being kind to him. Where to Watch: In Theaters Release Date: May 12, 2023 This 2009 romance novel has been adapted before, with Germany’s 2016 SMS Für Dich. The 2023 update stars Priyanka Chopra, Sam Heughan, and Celine Dion (as herself.) After a heated argument, Clara’s fiancé dies in a tragic accident. Two years later, Clara is still texting his old number. Sven, the new recipient, is mesmerized by her texts. Sven sets out to find Clara and the rest is history. Where to Watch: In Theaters Release Date: December 20, 2023 Based on both the 1985 film adaptation and its subsequent musical adaptation, this film version is being produced by Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, and Stephen Spielberg, with an all-star cast of Fantasia, Taraji P. Henson, H.E.R. Ciara, and Halle Bailey. You know the soundtrack is going to be incredible. Walker’s original novel follows the life of Celie, a young Black woman living in rural Georgia in the early 1900s. Where to Watch: Netflix Release Date: TBD Set during the Cultural Revolution, this epic Chinese sci-fi novel takes its title from a concept in orbital mechanics. When a secret military project contacts an alien civilization on the brink of collapse, it spurns a series of deadly events that could end humanity. Astrophysicist Ye Wenjie’s worldview collapses around her as she finds herself at the center of everything.
