Curious about the books becoming movies in 2023? Although nothing is certain, here are the most likely books to movies of 2023.
Every year, I compile a list of books becoming movies and tv shows, and every year it is a royal pain. Researching titles to see which movies based on books are coming soon and coping with ever-shifting release dates drive me nuts every year. Add in the prevalence of book adaptations on streaming services, and it’s not an easy task.
That’s not even factoring in a pandemic.
Even though theaters have made a comeback, movie release dates are still shifting constantly. I’d love to say that this is the definitive list of books being made into movies in 2023, but let’s face it. No one can foresee what the future will hold.
For your benefit, I’ve split my list of books to movies 2023 into three sections. First, I’ve got all the books becoming movies in 2023 with an actual release date. After that, I’ve got my most likely 2023 book adaptations, and then a list of books turning into movies under development. If we are lucky, we’ll see some of those this year.
If it seems like this list has changed since you last looked at it, it has! Release dates are changing all the time, so I will update periodically to reflect the newest information available.
If you love seeing your favorite books come to life on screen or want to discover some new books to read before they hit theaters (or Netflix), here is my list of the books to movies in 2023.
Books to Movies 2023
The Lying Life of Adults
Elena Ferrante
January 4, 2023 – On the cusp of womanhood, Giovanna finds herself questioning her body’s changes when her dad comments that she looks more and more like her Aunt Vittoria every day. Her father claims that Vittoria’s scandalous affair with a married man led to his cutting off ties with his entire family. When Vittoria finally meets her aunt, she is told about how her father ruined Vittoria’s life. As Giovanna tries to weave through the lies told on both sides, she struggles to reconcile her place in the family. A tale of upper-class intellectuals versus lower-class outcasts, The Lying Life of Adults is getting an Italian language book to movie adaptation in 2023.
The Witching Hour
Anne Rice
Mayfair Witches, January 5, 2023 – Anne Rice’s The Lives of Mayfair Witches series is getting a television adaptation in 2023. On New Year’s Eve, neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair finds a drowned man off the coast of California and magically brings him to life. Yet, now Michael finds he also has a mystical ability that terrifies him. As Rowan and Michael fall in love, they set out to solve the mystery of her family history of witchcraft and his newfound mysterious abilities.
The Pale Blue Eye
Louis Bayard
January 6, 2023 – In 1830, a suicide at West Point Academy doesn’t phase the cadets, until someone breaks in and steals the heart of the corpse. To avoid negative press, the Academy hires Augustus Landor, a former detective, to investigate and soon Landor recruits an observant cadet, Edgar Allan Poe. As the two dive into a world of secret societies, their instant friendship is threatened by secrets from Landor’s past.
A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Otto, January 13, 2023 – Ove, a cantankerous old Swede, just wants to be left in peace so he can commit suicide, but his pesky neighbors keep getting in the way. This heartwarming tale that you’ll find downright hilarious will be a book club favorite for years to come. Highlighting our need for connection in the modern world, A Man Called Ove typifies how important it is to leave our digital worlds and make sure we check in on our neighbors.
Wellmania
Brigid Delaney
January 15, 2023 – Wellness has become a huge industry, yet does any of it really work? Journalist Brigid Delaney decided to use herself as a guinea pig to try different strategies promoted as “wellness.” Starting with a 101-day fast, Delaney gives up her partying lifestyle to try to improve her health, journalling it all with wit, humor, and thoughtfulness.
The Screaming Staircase
Jonathan Stroud
Lockwood & Co., January 27, 2023 – One of the most anticipated books to tv series in 2023 is Lockwood & Co, based on Jonathan Stroud’s bestselling series. An epidemic of ghosts haunting England has led to the rise of psychic investigation agencies. When Lucy Carlyle moves to London, she joins the most ramshackle one, Lockwood & Co., run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. With one last chance to avoid financial ruin, the agency takes a case requiring them to spend the night in the most haunted house in England.
The Cabin at the End of the World
Paul Tremblay
Knock at the Cabin, February 3, 2023 – Seven-year-old Wen and her parents are vacationing at a remote New Hampshire cabin. While playing in the grass, Wen is captivated by a stranger named Leonard. Suddenly three more strangers appear carrying menacing weapons. They demand to be let into the cabin, claiming the family must make a sacrifice to prevent an apocalypse.
Text for You
Sofie Cramer
It’s All Coming Back to Me, February 10, 2023 – After an argument, Clara’s fiance stormed out of their apartment and then was killed in a tragic accident. Still in the depths of grief two years later, Clara begins texting his old phone number to tell him all the things left unsaid. When Sven starts getting mysterious text messages, he sets out to find the sender who has him completely captivated.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Judy Blume
April 28, 2023 – When eleven-year-old Margaret Simons moves to New Jersey, she desperately wants to fit in with her new friends as they talk about boys, bras, getting their first periods, and religion. Now, on top of dealing with puberty, Margaret must also decide her beliefs about God in this classic coming-of-age book.
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Crockett Johnson
June 30, 2023 – The beloved children’s picture book about Harold who creates a magical world with his purple crayon is getting a live-action book to movie adaptation in 2023. Details are slim on how closely the film will follow the original book, but we know the film is starring Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Lil Rel Howery, and Ravi Patel.
American Prometheus
Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Oppenheimer, July 21, 2023 – “The Father of the Atomic Bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer was instrumental in the Manhattan Project. Yet, after the bombing of Hiroshima, Oppenheimer was faced with the moral implications of his work. Radically proposing controls on nuclear armaments, making him a prime target of J. Edgar Hoover during the Red Scare.
The Trench
Steve Alten
MEG 2: The Trench, August 4, 2023 – In the sequel to his science fiction thriller MEG, Jonas Taylor, a paleobiologist and Megaladon expert, must face his deepest fears to save his job and his family. Four years after finding a pregnant Megaladon in the Marianas Trench, Jonas’s faltering institute houses the one surviving offspring. When Jonas turns to an eccentric billionaire for funding, he learns that everything comes with a price and that sharks might not be the scariest things he has to face.
Dracula
Bram Stoker
The Last Voyage of Demeter, August 11, 2023 – Written in 1897 by Irish author Bram Stoker, Dracula tells of the vampire Count Dracula’s planned move from Transylvania to England in search of new feeding grounds and the battle to stop him, led by Professor Van Helsing. Among the books to movies in 2023 is an adaptation of one chapter of Dracula, “The Captain’s Log,” as strange events befall the crew of a merchant ship.
Hallowe’en Party
Agatha Christie
A Haunting in Venice, September 15, 2023 – In Hercule Poirot’s 32nd mystery, he meets a teenage girl at a Halloween party who claims that she once witnessed a murder, but no one believes her. When the girl is found drowned in an apple-bobbing tub, Poirot must determine if he’s investigating one murder or two. Of the books to movies in 2023, I am most curious about this one, since the film is changing the setting to a seance in Venice.
The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty
Untitled, October 13, 2023 – Some of the best scary books are the basis for terrifying horror movies. In Washington, D.C., Chris MacNeil becomes increasingly concerned for her daughter Regan. The sweet-natured eleven-year-old is suddenly seized by convulsions, amnesia, foul-mouthed language, and physical contortions. When doctors can’t explain it, Chris seeks help from a priest who calls in Father Merrin, a specialist in exorcism.
Dune
Frank Herbert
Dune: Part Two, November 3, 2023 – Meet Paul Atreides, the heir apparent to the House of Atreides. At the beginning of the novel, his family takes control of the desert planet Arrakis, the source of the most sought after commodity in the galaxy. But power like that breeds many enemies who will stop at nothing to take over Arrakis. Mixing politics, religion, and mysticism with a whole lot of adventure, Herbert sends you on an epic journey worthy of any science fiction reader. After the massive success of the first film (which is a must-see if you haven’t already), the second half of the novel is being adapted in 2023.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
November 17, 2023 – In 2020, Collins shocked fans when she revealed her prequel to The Hunger Games would follow none other than the notorious President Snow. During the 10th annual Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow is selected as a mentor to the female candidate from District 12. Desperate to win a victory, Snow must use all his cunning and skill to help his doomed candidate, a girl he is beginning to care about.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl
Wonka, December 15, 2023 – In Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel, Charlie Bucket’s life is forever changed when he finds a golden ticket inside a chocolate bar. Now Charlies and his grandfather get to take a tour of Willy Wonka’s renowned chocolate factory. Among the books becoming movies in 2023, Wonka is a prequel detailing the early days of the eccentric chocolatier, played by Timothée Chalamet.
The Color Purple
Alice Walker
December 20, 2023 – A new musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s modern classic, The Color Purple, is one of the most intriguing books becoming movies in 2023. In the novel, poor young Black girl Celie writes letters to God in the early 1900s, begging for help from her father who beats and rapes her. After Celie is married off to an abusive man and helps her sister run away, Celie begins writing letters to her sister. Talking frankly about domestic and sexual abuse and homosexuality, The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.
Books Becoming Movies in 2023 (Hopefully)
Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman
In the sequel to American Gods, Fat Charlie Nancy’s life is changed forever when his father dropped dead. Returning to America for the funeral, Fat Charlie is shocked to discover his father was a god .. and he has a brother. Now Fat Charlie must navigate the world of the gods in this novel set in the same world as American Gods, but not directly connected to the first novel.
Blackout
Dhonielle Clayton, Et. Al.
During a summer heatwave, New York City is plunged into darkness from a citywide blackout. Told in six interlinking short stories written by six prominent Black authors (Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon), Blackout tells of first love, friendship transformations, and new possibilities when the lights go out.
Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Among the most anticipated upcoming books to movies is Taylor Jenkin Reid’s bestseller, Daisy Jones & The Six. This addictingly fun read is the oral history of the rise and fall of a fictional 70s band. With sex, drugs, and plenty of drama, you’ll feel like you are watching a biopic on VH1 – but an extremely well-written one.
Evidence of Love
John Bloom and Jim Atkinson
Love and Death – The true crime story of Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore has gained some major attention lately, with a miniseries from Hulu, Candy, in 2022 and a new HBO Max adaptation, Love and Death, in 2023. In 1984, Candy and Betty were friendly Texas neighbors, singing together in the Methodist choir. Their daughters were even best friends. But when Betty discovered Candy’s affair with her husband, a confrontation led to Candy killing Betty with an axe – a crime for which she was ultimately found not guilty of murder.
Exit West
Mohsin Hamid
In a country on the brink of civil war, fierce Nadia and gentle Saeed begin an intense romance, nestled securely in love as the city erupts around them. As violence escalates, they begin to hear rumors of doors with the ability to whisk you away to a free land. One of the most powerful book to movie 2023 adaptations, Exit West is a tale of desperately clinging to the past while trying to forge a new future.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe’s acclaimed short story is getting a Netflix television adaptation, most likely releasing in 2023. In true gothic fashion, an unnamed narrator receives a letter from his friend Roderick Usher begging for help in his illness. When he arrives at the family home, he finds Roderick and his sister Madeline gravely ill. When Madeline dies, he buries her in the family tomb, only to later realize he buried her alive.
High in the Clouds
Paul McCartney, Philip Ardagh, and Geoff Dunbar
When his homeland is destroyed, Wirral the Squirrel sets off to find Animalia, a land where all animals can live in peace. With the help of a frog with a hot air balloon, a clever rat, and a red squirrel, Wirral eventually decides they must free all the enslaved animals.
Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann
If you are looking for exciting new movies based on books, you should keep your eye out for this true crime story about the fascinating case of the Osage murders in the 1920s. After discovering oil on their land, the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma was among the richest people in the world at the time. Once the death toll surpasses 24 Osage, the newly created FBI takes up the investigation to expose an alarming conspiracy behind these notorious crimes. After plenty of delays in filming, let’s hope that Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro will come out in 2023.
The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura Dave
Before Owen Michaels disappeared, he smuggled a note to his new wife Hannah: Protect her. Hannah knows he’s referring to his sixteen-year-old daughter Bailey, but Bailey doesn’t want anything to do with Hannah. As Owen’s boss gets arrested and the FBI comes knocking, As Hannah tries to unravel Owen’s true identity and learn to connect with her stepdaughter, the suspense keeps you turning pages.
Leave the World Behind
Rumaan Alam
While vacationing at a home rental in a remote part of Long Island, a white couple is surprised when a Black couple shows up claiming to be the homeowners. They say they are fleeing from a mass blackout and disaster in New York City. But without tv and the internet, neither couple knows what to believe or who to trust.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
Elizabeth Zott has always defied stereotyping, especially as the only woman chemist at the Hastings Research Institute in the 1960s. After falling in love with another chemist who sees her for who she is, life throws her a curveball. Now as a single mom, she unexpectedly finds herself the host of a tv cooking show. When Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking charms her audience, the women who watch her begin to question the status quo in their own lives, making Elizabeth a target of those who find the change unwelcome.
The Magician’s Elephant
Kate DiCamillo
When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene pleads to know if his sister is still alive and how he can find her. Enigmatically, she declares that an elephant will lead him there. This declaration sparks a wondrous chain of events that will captivate your imagination in this acclaimed children’s book gorgeously illustrated by Yoko Tanaka.
The Marsh King’s Daughter
Karen Dionne
Helena Pelletier may seem like a normal mom, but she has a long-buried secret. Her mother was kidnapped as a teen by her father and held captive in the marshlands of Upper Michigan. She loved growing up in nature until she realized how evil her father was. When Helena’s father escapes from prison and fled into the marsh. Knowing the police don’t stand a chance to track him, Helena sets off to capture her father since only she knows the marshlands as he does.
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
Set in a small village in occupied France, the story centers around two sisters. Forced to house a German officer in her home, the older sister Vianne Mauriac must decide, to protect her daughter, where exactly she should draw the line of being complicit with German demands. On the other hand, her younger sister Isabelle Rossignol feels committed to doing anything she can to resist the German occupation. Although one of my most anticipated books to movies, The Nightingale‘s release date still has been set and I’m not sure if we’ll actually be seeing this one in 2023.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Rick Riordan brought Greek mythology to life in his bestselling fantasy series, and Disney+ is hoping to capture the magic in an upcoming television adaptation. Growing up with his mom in New York, Percy Jackson thought he was just an ordinary kid until strange things begin to happen. After Percy’s mom reveals that his father was Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, Percy is sent to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods.
Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie
Peter Pan & Wendy – J. M. Barrie’s children’s classic is getting yet another book to movie adaptation soon. Along with all the other Disney classics getting live adaptations, Peter Pan & Wendy will update the beloved children’s book. The boy who never grows up recruits Wendy and her two brothers to join him on adventures in Neverland.
The Power
Naomi Alderman
What if all women suddenly developed the power of sparking electricity with their hands? How would that ability change the balance of power in the world? Naomi Alderman does a good job of setting up this dystopian scenario. Her narrative follows several individuals who see opportunity in the shifting times and manage to change the world, but not always for the better.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston
When the President’s son falls in love with the Prince of Wales, international relations take on a whole new term. At first, America’s darling Alex Claremont-Diaz can’t stand the royal British heir, Prince Henry. Forced to develop a fake friendship for the publicity, the two soon realize that no faking is required.
‘Salem’s Lot
Stephen King
The list of books to movies 2023 couldn’t be complete without at least one Stephen King adaptation. In his second published work, King depicts the tale of Ben Mears, a writer returning to the town of his childhood to write his next book. As a boy, he had a supernatural experience in a haunted house in Jerusalem’s Lot and thinks it would be a great inspiration. Though as he starts his book about the power of evil, vampires start to take over the small Maine town.
Shriver
Chris Belden
When he is mistaken for a reclusive writer of the same name, Shriver attends a writer’s conference at a small Midwestern liberal arts college. However, Shriver doesn’t realize how popular his alter ego’s novel is and must fake his way through literary panels and fancy dinners. As Shriver falls in love with the conference organizer, he suddenly finds himself the prime suspect when another attendee disappears.
Spaceman of Bohemia
Jaroslav Kalfar
Raised in the Czech countryside by loving grandparents, Jakub Procházka has become a leading scientist and his country’s first astronaut. When he leaves on a dangerous solo mission to Venus, Jakub realizes too late how much he is wife has sacrificed for his ambition. As he befriends an alien spider, Jakub spends his time in space pondering the deep questions of life, hoping to return home to give his marriage another chance.
The Field Guide
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
The Spiderwick Chronicles – In this beloved children’s story, the Grace children – nine-year-old identical twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory – move into the crumbling Spiderwick Estate in Maine with their mom. When they discover a hidden library and a secret book, the children learn they are sharing the house with faeries with their own agenda.
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
During China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret project sends signals into space hoping to make contact with extraterrestrials. When their signal is received by an alien species intent on conquering Earth, mankind must decide how to respond. Do you acquiesce to superior beings since Earth is already so corrupt or do you fight against them, a seemingly impossible task?
Triptych
Karin Slaughter
Will Trent – ABC has ordered a new television series based on Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent books, set to run during midseason. In Triptych, a serial killer is stalking Atlanta, leaving women’s mutilated bodies behind to spark an intense manhunt from a diverse cast of characters: Michael, a detective with a failing marriage; Angie; a vice cop, Michael’s ex-lover turned enemy; and Will, with a mysterious past called in to assist.
Troubled Blood
Robert Galbraith
The British series C. B Strike is set to return for a third season, adapting the fifth book in J. K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series. Private Investigator Strike takes on the cold case of a mother who mysteriously disappeared forty years ago. Meanwhile, his trusty colleague Robin Ellacott is going through a messy divorce while struggling with her feelings for Strike.
Turtles All the Way Down
John Green
John Green’s young adult novel follows sixteen-year-old Aza as she investigates the mystery of a fugitive billionaire. Hoping to earn the $100,000 reward, Aza and her best friend Daisy befriend his son Davis hoping to find answers. John Green eloquently delves into Aza’s mental health issues with severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which makes this novel especially significant for teenagers today.
Uglies
Scott Westerfeld
Good dystopian books for teens tap into their fears, and Uglies takes a hard look at self-image issues. Tally is thrilled to be turning sixteen soon so she can undergo an extensive procedure that will transform her from an ugly duckling to flawlessly gorgeous. Once you’re a pretty, you are welcomed into a life of luxury and amusement. When Tally’s best friend runs away to avoid the procedure, Tally is recruited to find her, or be refused the surgery herself.
White Bird
R. J. Palacio
R. J. Palacio is best known for her book Wonder, which was adapted to film in 2017. In the graphic novel White Bird, Palacio extends the Wonder universe to tell the story of Julian’s grandmother, Grandmère, who, as a young Jewish girl during World War II, was hidden away by a family in Nazi-occupied France.
Wicked
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire imagines the life of the Wicked Witch of the West, a misunderstood little green-skinned girl named Elphaba who was not as wicked as our preconceived notions tell us. Maguire’s book, which garners mixed reviews, inspired the hit Broadway musical which is the basis for the film which has been delayed repeatedly over the last few years.
Books to Movies In Development
What Books to Movies in 2023 Are You Most Excited For?
Do you enjoy watching books becoming movies? Which books to movies in 2023 are you most likely to go see? As always, let me know in the comments!
More Book Lists:
KAREN ADAMS says
The Nightengale is the one I wqill be waiting for!
Pete says
I’d just like to point out that this description of “Evidence of Love” shows potential as a new verse to Jim Carroll Band’s “People Who Died”:
Candy and Betty were friendly Texas neighbors/
singing together in the Methodist choir.
Their daughters were even best friends.
But when Betty discovered Candy’s affair with her husband/
a confrontation led to Candy killing Betty with an axe/
a crime for which she was ultimately found not guilty of murder.
Elizabeth S. says
You forgot to mention Eragon coming to Disney+ as well.