Upcoming book-to-film adaptations in 2017

It’s no secret that filmmakers love adapting books for their films. It’s also no secret that we love watching films that have been adapted from books.

Though it can be stressful waiting to see how much-loved fictional characters are portrayed on screen (and waiting to see which of our favourite scenes don’t make it into the film at all), for the most part seeing books brought to life on the big screen is fun and rewarding.

It’s a good thing we enjoy them so much because there are so many book to film adaptations coming to cinemas this year that we feel like we’ll spend all our free non-reading time at the movies!

Fifty Shades Darker (released 9 February)
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger
Synopsis: The sequel to 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey (both in film and in print) raises the stakes for Ana in her relationship with Christian, and builds up to the third and final instalment in the series. 

A Street Cat Named Bob (released 9 February)
Starring: Joanne Froggatt, Luke Treadaway
Synopsis: The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat. 

Hidden Figures (released 16 February)
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae
Synopsis: The incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history. 

Alone in Berlin (released 2 March)
Starring: Emma Thompson, Daniel Bruhl, Brendan Gleeson
Synopsis: Berlin, 1940. Working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel receive the news that their only son has lost his life in the battlefield and decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very own way. 

Jasper Jones (released 2 March)
Starring: Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving, Levi Miller, Angourie Rice, Dan Wylie, Aaron McGrath
Synopsis: The long-anticipated film adaptation of Craig Silvey’s best-selling novel. 

A Monster Calls (released 9 March)
Starring: Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell
Synopsis: A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mum’s terminal illness. 

Before I Fall (released 16 March)
Starring: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller
Synopsis: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Beauty and the Beast (released 23 March)
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson
Synopsis: Rediscover a tale as old as time (seriously, we don’t think this needs a synopsis).

A Dog’s Purpose (released 6 April)
Starring: Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, John Ortiz
Synopsis: The soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.

The Zookeeper’s Wife (released 4 May)
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Bruhl
Synopsis: The real-life story of one working wife and mother who became a hero to hundreds during World War II.  

The Circle (released 4 May)
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega
Synopsis: A woman lands a job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, where she begins to unravel its darkest secrets. 

Same Kind of Different As Me (released 4 May)
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Renee Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou, Jon Voight
Synopsis: A modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together. 

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (released 11 May)
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Eric BanaSynopsis: An iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth, tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.

And this is only the beginning. Next week we will provide another list of those books being released as movies later in the year. Which of the above is on your “must see” or “must read” list?