The fall TV and movie slate is stacked with adaptations of beloved books, from a Stephen King classic to the next chapter in the Dune saga. If you like to read the source material before you watch, now is the time to start. Eight major book-to-screen projects are releasing between September and December, and each one comes with a built-in audience of readers already invested in the story.
Books have inspired some of the biggest blockbusters of all time, like Jurassic Park and The Lord of the Rings, along with hit TV series like Game of Thrones. Beyond coming with a built-in audience, books offer memorable characters and imaginative worlds that can sell a studio on an ambitious project. After all, what Hollywood studio would ever take a chance on a totally bonkers story like Dune if the entire thing hadn’t already been meticulously mapped out with written words and devoured by millions of fans?
Here is the full rundown of the biggest book-to-screen adaptations releasing this fall.
Slow Horses Season 6
- Slow Horses season 6 — Releasing on Apple TV on Sept. 16
Apple’s faithful adaptation of Mick Herron’s Slough House series is one of the most consistently funny and thrilling shows on streaming. Season 6 takes just a bit of Herron’s 2019 novel Joe Country and mostly focuses on the events of his 2021 book Slough House, following the burned-out Cold War veteran Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and MI5’s biggest losers as they find themselves hunted by assassins.
Season 7 has already finished production, so if you want to get ahead on your reading, you can also pick up Herron’s Bad Actors.
Carrie Gets the Flanagan Treatment
- Carrie — Releasing on Prime Video on Oct. 7
There have been more than 100 adaptations of Stephen King’s extensive bibliography, but the trend started with Brian De Palma’s legendary 1976 film based on King’s debut novel, Carrie. None of the other attempts to update or continue Carrie’s story since then are as promising as this miniseries from Mike Flanagan, who has skillfully adapted other King books including Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep.
Exploring the fresh horrors of high school in the age of social media, the new Carrie includes scream king Matthew Lillard, Prey star Amber Midthunder, and plenty of Flanagan’s favorite actors from his previous shows.
Whalefall Brings Survival Horror to Theaters
- Whalefall — Releasing in theaters Oct. 16
Austin Abrams is having a big year of going through terrible circumstances. Along with trying to survive the horrors of Raccoon City in Resident Evil, the Weapons star is swallowed by a sperm whale in the adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ 2023 survival thriller.
Kraus co-wrote the film with director Brian Duffield, so expect a faithful adaptation of the tense story of a scuba diver trying to escape using lessons he learned from his dead father, who is played by Josh Brolin.
Having the author in the writers’ room is a good sign for fans of the book.
Klara and the Sun Hits Screens in October
- Klara and the Sun — Releasing in theaters on Oct. 23
Taika Waititi directs and co-writes this adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 dystopian novel. Klara (Jenna Ortega) is an Artificial Friend desperately seeking a family she can love and learn from. When Josie (Mia Tharia) decides she’s the perfect companion, her mom Chrissie (Amy Adams) grudgingly agrees to take Klara home.
Facing the threat of being replaced by a newer model, Klara takes it upon herself to try to help Josie and her family.
Wildwood Brings Laika’s Dark Fairy Tale to Life
- Wildwood — Releasing in theaters on Oct. 23
The latest dark fairy tale from stop-motion animation studio Laika adapts the 2011 illustrated kids novel from husband and wife team Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. When her baby brother is abducted by a flock of crows, Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) discovers a magical forest hidden near her home in Portland.
Her quest to bring her brother home gets her involved in a war waged by the forest’s mysterious ruler Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), who is trying to make up for her own loss.
The Hunger Games Prequel Arrives in November
- The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — Releasing in theaters on Nov. 26
The adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ 2025 prequel novel is set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games and tells the story of Katniss Everdeen’s mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada). To celebrate the 25th edition of the games, each district sends four people to fight to the death for the amusement of the denizens of the Capitol.
Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, and Jesse Plemons will all be donning ridiculous costumes to enjoy the carnage.
Percy Jackson Season 3 Hits Disney Plus
- Percy Jackson and The Olympians season 3 — Releasing Nov. 20 on Disney Plus
The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, the first two books in Rick Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood Chronicles series, were movies before they were adapted into a Disney Plus series. Now Riordan’s third book, The Titan’s Curse, hits the screen for the first time.
Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) grapples with his role in The Great Prophecy as he goes on a quest to rescue Athena’s daughter Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries) and protect Olympus from the titan Kronos.
Dune: Part Three Closes the Trilogy
- Dune: Part Three — Releasing in theaters on Dec. 18
Denis Villeneuve broke Frank Herbert’s 1965 masterpiece Dune into two films, and he’s completing his trilogy by adapting Herbert’s sequel, Dune Messiah. Dune: Part Three shows a far darker version of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), who has been hardened by decades of war and will do anything to maintain control as Emperor.
As his allies question their faith, Paul faces a new threat in Scytale (Robert Pattinson), who tries to distract the prescient tyrant with an unusual gift: a clone of Paul’s former mentor Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa).
Plan Your Fall Reading List Now
The fall slate offers something for every kind of reader. Stephen King fans have Carrie to revisit. Dune devotees can finally check out the sequel. Spy thriller readers can catch up on the bestselling Slough House series.
Whether you watch first or read first, the next few months are full of reasons to clear your schedule. The best part of these adaptations is that they send readers back to the books, and they send book lovers to the theaters.
Source: polygon.com
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