What is it about book-to-movie adaptations that makes them so compelling? Maybe it’s the fact that we can do some research before the film comes out, to get an idea of what it will be about. Perhaps it’s the rich world building that comes from the kind of storytelling you can only find in a book, where each character is introduced with vivid descriptions and we get to really delve into their thoughts. But for most, it’s the thrill that comes from seeing our favorite stories come alive on the screen. If novels let our imagination run free, films give us an immersive visual experience that, if done well, can make it all so much more rewarding.
In this article, we’ve made a list of upcoming 2025 movies that are all based on books. The year has only just begun, but we were able to find quite a few, and you’re bound to find something to anticipate! Of course, if you haven’t read all the novels these adaptations come from, you can always visit a bookstore online and search for all these titles. Without further ado, here are 5 book-to-movie adaptations that will all be released this year, in order of release! Enjoy!
1. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
A new Bridget Jones film is coming, and fans of Helen Fielding’s bestselling book couldn’t be more excited. The trailer is already out, and it certainly delves into unfamiliar territory, compared to the previous movies in the franchise. In the series, Renée Zellweger plays a woman who’s trying to come to terms with her imperfections – but those imperfections are precisely what make her so relatable. In the first movies, we watched as her love for lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) defied all obstacles, including a charming but manipulative boss (Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver. In later entries, more characters joined the franchise, with Patrick Dempsey further complicating things in Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016).
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy comes eight years after the previous instalment, and for the first time, Mark Darcy won’t be in the picture. It’s been four years since his dead, and we now find Bridget having to adjust with being not only a single mother of two, but also a widower. The trailer shows us new characters, played by Leo Woodall, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Isla Fisher, and returning ones, like Emma Thompson and (wait for it) Daniel Cleaver. Suffice it to say, we are excited. The film will be out on Peacock on February 13, 2025 in the US, and it will also get an international theatrical release on Valentine’s Day.
2. Mickey 17
The most anticipated film on this list is Bong Joon-ho‘s (Parasite) new sci-fi drama, adapted from Edward Ashton’s book series “Mickey7”. In a not so far future, Robert Pattinson plays an “expendable”: someone who quite literally “dies for a living”. But Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) has been around for a long time, as even though he’s sent on missions that are so dangerous that he always dies in them, he’s regenerated in a new body every time. But something goes wrong when Mickey reaches his seventeenth version, and founds that he didn’t die on the mission. Yet, the eighteenth version has already been made, which means that two versions of Mickey are alive at the same time. Things escalate even further as the film goes on, in a movie that, judging by the trailer and the kind of storytelling Bong has gotten us used to, has the potential to be both hilarious and deeply insightful.
Mickey 17 will be released globally in theaters on March 7, 2025, but if you like attending film festivals, you’re in luck! The movie will have its World Premiere at the Berlinale, as a Special Gala, in February. Stay tuned for our review soon!
3. The Bride
We are getting not one but two adaptations of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” this year! The first one we’ll see is from director Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter). Peter Sarsgaard, Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley star in a movie that’s being described as both romantic and violent, and that will also be a musical. We don’t know much else about it, but its all-star cast – Jake Gyllenhaal, John Magaro, Penélope Cruz, Julianne Hough and Annette Bening are also attached to the project, among others – and the kind of budget that comes with a big production company like Warner Bros., makes us very excited about it. The movie is set to be released on September 26, 2025. If you’re a Mary Shelley fan, of course, there’s another adaptation to look out for this year: Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, which will be out in November.
4. The Running Man
Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver) is working on an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Running Man,” which was published in 1982 but takes place in 2025, making this the perfect year for it to come out. The release date has been set for November 7, and there are many reasons to look forward to the movie. The first is a dystopian story that mirrors our own reality, as both book and movie are set in a totalitarian version of the United States.
The second is Glen Powell in the leading role, playing a 28-year-old resident of the fictional Co-Op City who’s desperate for money. In order to sustain his wife and daughter, Ben turns to the Games Network, a government-controlled TV station that broadcasts violent game shows. One of these shows is the titular Running Man, which involves the contestant becoming an enemy of the state and being hunted by hitmen. Needless to say, this is exactly where Ben ends up.
5. Wicked: For Good
Another adaptation is coming to theaters in November: the second instalment of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked film series. The first movie was released this year and is currently in the Oscar race with ten nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and Best Original Score. If you’re familiar with the Broadway musical that came before the movie, you might now know that both musical and movies are adapted from Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”. If you’re already familiar with the source material, then you already know that the first movie ended just when things were started to get exciting, and that an incredible adventure awaits us in the sequel on November 23. Needless to say, both the film’s protagonists and the audience will be changed “for good.”
There you have it! The five upcoming movies listed above are all highly anticipated films based on novels that will be released in 2025. The year has just begun, so here’s to many more book-to-movie adaptations to come!
