Upcoming Netflix Movies Based on Books Coming in 2024 & Beyond

Some of Netflix’s biggest movies have been based on books, including titles like Bird Box and Leave the World Behind. Netflix has no plans to slow down on adapting novels anytime soon. Here’s our big look at all of Netflix’s announced and upcoming book adaptations.

To make this guide readable, we’ll only include titles coming in Fall 2024 and beyond and keep the list strictly to English-language titles only. We’ll also be doing mainly novel adaptations rather than touching on comic book adaptations.

As a rule of thumb, any movie announced to be in development four years ago is sadly presumed MIA, so we won’t be including those in our main lists. Of course, titles are frequently announced as being in early development by the trades, only to end up going nowhere or getting lost in the mix, especially with the recent changes in management at Netflix Film. That’s Hollywood for you!

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Movie Book Adaptations Coming in Fall 2024

Uglies

Coming to Netflix: September 13th

One of two Scott Westerfeld adaptations in the works at Netflix (the other being a new anime series) is Uglies, directed by McG. The sci-fi movie sees some regular Netflix stars feature, such as Joey King, Chase Stokes, and Laverne Cox.

Per Netflix, here’s what you can expect, “In a futuristic world that imposes cosmetic surgery at 16, Tally is eager for her turn to join the rest of society. But when a friend runs away, Tally embarks on a journey to save her that upends everything she thought she wanted.”

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Rez Ball 

Coming to Netflix: September 27th

Inspired by both a New York Times article and the book Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation, this new sports drama features a predominantly unknown cast with it following a Native American high school basketball team trying to overcome the odds of winning the state championship.

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Emilia Perez

Coming to Netflix: November 13th

Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón headline this new multi-lingual film based on the novel by Boris Razon that’ll make its world premiere at TIFF before hitting Netflix. 

Per Netflix, the film “follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia enlists Rita, an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self.”

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That Christmas

Coming to Netflix: December 6th

Arriving just in time for Christmas, this new animated film from seasoned animation director Simon Otto is based on Richard Curtis’s series of children’s books. 

The film is about several intertwined stories over the festive season, featuring an all-star voice cast that includes Brian Cox, Jodie Whittaker, Billy Nighy, and many other recognizable names. 

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Movie Book Adaptations Expected in 2025

Fear Street: Prom Queen

Following the success of all trilogy of Fear Street movies, Netflix is tapping the popular book franchise of R.L. Stine once again for a new standalone film being directed by Matt Palmer with India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, and David Iacono amongst the cast. 

There’s no word on a release date, and despite production having wrapped up, sadly, we’re not expecting to get this for Halloween 2024. Instead, we’d expect this new teen horror to land sometime in 2025.

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Frankenstein

Having already adapted The Adventures of Pinocchio for Netflix, Guillermo del Toro will return for his most ambitious project in years, bringing the well-known character of Frankenstein to life on our screens with the help of talents like Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz, among others.  Still in production as of the time of this article, the movie is expected to headline Netflix’s 2025 slate.

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My Oxford Year

There have been numerous plans to bring Allison Burnett’s romance drama to life, but Netflix will finally put the wheels to the floor with production getting underway on this new film starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylechreest. Filming on the new movie will continue from August through October 2024 and is expected to conclude sometime in 2025. 

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People We Meet On Vacation

As we were among the first to announce, Brett Haley will direct this new romance movie, which is shooting in New Orleans and Barcelona. It is adapting the novel by Emily Henry, and Tom Blyth and Emily Bader will lead the cast. The premise is about two friends who seem like polar opposites, but every year, they travel away for a week on vacation together. 

Production of the new movie gets underway in September and will run through November, meaning we can probably expect this to land on our screens sometime next year. 

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R&B

One of the many projects that Tyler Perry has in the works at Netflix right now is R&B, a new retelling of Ruth and Boaz, who are two notable characters in the Bible. Production is due to get underway in Atlanta this October.  

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Steve

Cillian Murphy has several projects at Netflix right now, and one of those is a new drama adaptation of the novel Shy by Max Porter. Currently in post-production and expected to arrive in 2025, the movie is about a headteacher with spiraling mental health problems who has to keep his students at a failing school in line. Tim Mielants is directing, and Murphy will star alongside Jay Lycurgo.

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The Ballad of a Small Player

Filming in Asia over the summer, Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton are headlining this adaptation of Lawrence Osborne’s novel with Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) directing. Fleeing his past and mounting debts, a gambler hides in Macau, where he meets a mysterious kindred spirit who just might offer him a path to redemption.

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The Electric State

One of Netflix’s priciest movies in its history will come in 2025 (reportedly in March) with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt leading a big ensemble cast. It adapts the graphic novel by Simon Stalenhag (which features some absolutely gorgeous visuals), with the Russo Brothers bringing it to life on the big screens. We here at What’s on Netflix have very high expectations for this one. 

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The Life List

Sofia Carson has become one of Netflix’s go-to talents, particularly for its romance adaptations and just one of the projects Carson has coming up is an adaptation of the novel by Lori Nelson Spielman. The actress will be playing the role of Alex Rose, a young woman embarking on a year-long self-discovery journey after her mother dies.

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The Night Always Comes

Acquired by Netflix, this adaptation of the novel by Willy Vlautin sees Vanessa Kirby (who is also a producer on the movie) play the role of Lynette, a working-class woman going to any means to pay her debts off within the next 24 hours or risk losing her house. This movie, directed by Benjamin Caron, wrapped production in the summer of 2024. 

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The Thursday Murder Club

Chris Columbus returns to Netflix following his two Christmas Chronicles movies to direct a new drama based on the British author Richard Osman’s novel featuring some British acting heavyweights, including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley. Filmed in the UK throughout the second half of 2024, the movie is being produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners.

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The Twits

Confirmed for release in 2025, this is one of the major productions from the Roald Dahl library that Netflix acquired in 2021. Produced by Jellyfish Pictures, Phil Johnston is helming the project, which focuses on the titular smelly, nasty, and mean protagonists operating a dangerous amusement park. 

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Movie Book Adaptations In Development at Netflix

The below have been announced but have been in development for a number of years or are very early in development and have only just been recently announced.

• A Lady’s Guide To Selling Out – Meg Ryan was announced in 2022 to be directing an adaptation of this romantic comedy novel by Sally Franson. 
• A Thousand Boy Kisses – Stephen Chbosky is on board to direct this coming-of-age romance novel by Tillie Cole. “Seventeen-year-old Rune returns from Norway to Georgia, wondering why his childhood friend Poppy stopped communicating. As he uncovers the truth, more heartbreak awaits.”
• Alice in Wonderland – Adapting the classic novel by Lewis Carroll, this adaptation was first announced back in 2021 with Sabrina Carpenter set to serve as executive producer and star in. It’d be a modern take on the tale set against the backdrop of a festival.   
• Amnesty – Ramin Bahrani was announced in 2021 to be adapting a the crime novel by Aravind Adiga.
• Black Samurai – Announced in 2022, Addictive Pictures and 87evelent Entertainment are working on Marc Olden’s Blaxploitation movie adaptation. 
• Dark Wire – Crime thriller, which was announced in 2022 and would be directed by Jason Bateman. Based on the novel by Joseph Cox. 
• Every House is Haunted – Jason Pagan and Andrew Deutschman were announced to be adapting the supernatural short story The House on Ashley Avenue by Ian Rogers back in 2021 with Sam Raimi producing. 
• Exit West – Announced in 2021, this movie would be coming from the Obama’s production company with Riz Ahmed attached as Saeed.
• Faun – Joe Hill’s supernatural fantasy short story will be produced by Michael Sugar’s Sugar23 for Netflix. 
• Meet Me At The Lake – Archewell Productions (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) are producing this adaptation of the Carley Fortune novel.
• My Fight/Your Fight – Chernin Entertainment are behind this autobiography of UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
• My Monticello – Sci-fi thriller that is being produced under Peter Chernin’s banner for Netflix. Announced in 2021, the movie follows a young woman who leads a group of refugees to take shelter in Monticello after society collapses. 
• My Lovely Wife – Previously in the works at Prime Video, Netflix tapped the Samantha Downing novel for development into a movie in 2023. 
• Never Lie – Based on the Freida McFadden novel, this is one of the many Shawn Levy projects in Netflix’s works. It’s a thriller about a newlywed couple exploring houses to buy, and one they go and look at holds a twisted past which they explore as they’re snowed in.
• Nineteen Steps – Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is the co-author of this novel along with Kathleen McGurl, which is about an 18-year-old girl facing the troubles of WW2. Anthony McCarten is behind the script for Netflix.

• None of This Is True – Announced in June 2024, this thriller is based on Lisa Jewell’s novel with Eleanor Burgess writing. 
• Northern Spy – Crime thriller based on the Flynn Berry novel, written by Steve Kloves. Announced back in 2021, the movie follows a woman who learns that her younger sister is working for the IRA but has also become an MI5 informer.
• Old Man’s War – John Scalzi’s novel was previously set up to be adapted at Paramount, but the rights ultimately lapsed, with the movie now in the works at Netflix. The sci-fi novel is about an older gentleman putting his brain into a young body to combine the experience of age with the strength of youth. 
• Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt is behind this novel about a lonely janitor at an aquarium who develops a relationship with an octopus. Olivia Newman to write and direct with Sally Field in talks to star. 
• Rockaway – Announced in 2021, this adaptation of the novel by Diane Cardwell was set up with Kerry Washington starring and producing. 
• Seesaw Monster – Kotaro Isake is behind this novel that was announced to star Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek. 
• Somewhere Only We Know – Maurene Goo’s novel was announced in 2021 to be adapted by writer Lana Cho.
• The Buried Giant – Guillermo del Toro is working on this new stop-motion animated movie based on the Kazuo Ishiguro novel set in a near-fantasy medieval England and a family in search of their lost son.

• The Chronicles of Narnia – It’s been years since Netflix picked up the Narnia rights, and while we now know Greta Gerwig is set to direct, the movies aren’t hitting production anytime soon. 
• The Cipher – Meant to be the third major movie starring Jeniffer Lopez for Netflix, this thriller adapts the novel of Isabella Maldonado about an FBI agent pulled into a complex serial killer case. 
• The Girls I’ve Been – Millie Bobby Brown is attached to this movie being produced by Jason Bateman, adapting the novel by Tess Sharpe about a con artist vying to get a clean getaway from a tense hostage situation during a bank robbery. 
• The House Across The Lake – Announced in 2023, this mystery thriller from Berlanti Productions would be adapting the novel by Riley Sager with Paul Feig set to direct. 
• The Last Mrs. Parrish – Thriller based on Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine’s novel, with Lisa Rubin attached to write. It was first announced in 2021 and is about a con woman who targets a wealthy couple.
• The Night We Lost Him – Based on the novel by Laura Dave about the family of a hotel empire finding out who the patriarch of the family really is after his death. 
• The Themis Files – Amblin Partners are behind this sci-fi adaptation of the Sylvain Neuvel novels with David Koepp writing. Also known as Unearthed. 
• The Woman in Cabin 10 – Kiera Knightley was announced to be on board for this $20M budget adaptation of the thriller by author Ruth Ware with Cindy Holland producing. A travel journalist, assigned to cover a luxury yacht launch, witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard, but with everyone accounted for, she faces disbelief and danger as she relentlessly seeks the truth while the yacht speeds through the desolate North Sea.
• Uprising – 21 Laps Entertainment (Shawn Levy) is producing this new horror action based on the Raymond Villareal novel about a global virus outbreak turning people into vampires. 

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Just to round out as we promised, some of the book adaptations that were previously announced that are missing in action include The Hunt for Atlantis, John Henry and the Statesmen (Dwayne Johnson), My Wife and I Bought a Ranch…, We Used to Live Here (Blake Lively), Forty Acres, The Netherfield Girls, Auntie Claus, Dial A for Aunties, We Were Never Here, Tell Me Everything, The Goon, Sandkings, Pyros, The Impossible Fortress, ‘Hello, Universe’, A Note of Explanation, 

Several we can definitely confirm are no longer in the works at the streamer are The Shrinking of Treehorn by director Ron Howard, an animated title on Walter the Farting Dog, The Rewind, The Kane Chronicles, Death Note 2, Pashmina, Aurora, Escape from Hat, The Selection, Flash Boys, The Panama Papers, and Hello America by producer Ridley Scott.

For our full look at everything scheduled to premiere in 2025, stay tuned to What’s on Netflix.

What new book adaptation are you looking forward to watching on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.