Back in October, I posted the fifth part of an ongoing series of articles about books being made into films. And the following list is the continuation of that series, but this time the list is comprised mainly of books that are set to be released in 2014 and are expected to hit the big screen at some point.
They appear in alphabetical order:
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Annihilation – Based on the Jeff VanderMeer novel of the same name that will hit bookstands in early 2014, Paramount Pictures is working on the “Southern Reach” trilogy that chronicles an expedition into a mysterious sealed off zone known as Area X. The area is labeled an environmental disaster zone, but to all appearances it is a pristine wilderness. Over three decades a secret agency has sent in expeditions to discover the truth. Some have never returned, others have reported nothing out of the ordinary. As the area itself seems to be expanding, the novels follow the next investigative team sent into the zone. Said team is lead by a biologist looking for her husband who disappeared on an earlier expedition.
Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane
Children Of Paranoia – Based on the debut novel by Trevor Shane, CBS Films is adapting the story of a young assassin caught up in a global clandestine war that’s been raging for centuries. Everything changes when he falls in love with a woman who calls into question the world as he knows it. As he desperately fights to uncover the elusive truth behind the conflict, he begins to wonder which side he’s really on — good or evil.
Day One by Nate Kenyon
Day One – Macmillan Films will develop the science fiction novel by Nate Kenyon for the big screen. The story is set in the near future, detailing a journalist’s attempt to escape New York to rescue his pregnant wife and young son during the chaotic first twenty-four hours of a sentient computer takeover.
Half Bad by Sally Green
Half Bad – 20th Century Fox has acquired the right to the debut novel by Sally Green, set to be released in March of 2014, that is a contemporary supernatural thriller that takes place in a world inhabited by covert witches; one faction is good and the other evil. They are divided by hatred and united by one thing only: fear of a boy descended from both sides.
Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington
Liv, Forever – Offspring Entertainment will be producing the film based on the Amy Talkington novel of the same name – which is to hit bookstores in March of 2014 – that is about Liv Bloom, who is murdered shortly after arriving at a prestigious New England boarding school. Her spirit remains and with the help of two boys–one of whom she’s fallen for and the other she reluctantly is trusting–she tries to solve her own murder.
Seasons by Joe Halderman
Seasons – Based on the Joe Halderman sci-fi novella, which is part of the author’s 1985 short story collection called “Dealing In Futures” has been acquired by Sony Pictures. The story focuses on an anthropological expedition to a planet with sentient humanoids that goes horribly awry.
Sylo by D.J. MacHale
Sylo – The novel trilogy from D.J. MacHale has been set up at FOX 2000 and the Donners Company for release on the big screen. The series follow the inhabitants of a small island who find themselves cut off from the mainland by a mysterious government military force. A group of teens escape to the mainland, only to discover that the inhabitants of the United States have all but vanished, and that they were actually being kept safe. They try to discover the source of the invasion and fight back. The first book in the trilogy came out in July of 2013 with the second set to be published in March 2014 and the third book the fall of 2014.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
The Bone Season – 20th Century Fox has acquired the first of a seven-installment sci-fi novel series by Samantha Shannon that takes place in a futuristic London society, where a 19-year-old girl works in the criminal underworld because she is a dreamwalker, a rare clairvoyant who can break into people’s minds and see what they are thinking. She is kidnapped and whisked away to Oxford, an otherworldly place where dreamwalkers are used as soldiers and where she is held captive by a warden with mysterious motives. The intention is for her to remain incarcerated her whole life, but she tries to find a way into her captor’s mind.
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
The Drowned World – Warner Bros. and Heyday Films have optioned the classic 1962 novel by J.G. Ballard that is set during 2145 and imagines a terrifying world in which solar radiation has melted the ice caps. Jungles have overrun continental Europe and London is for the most part left submerged under water. The protagonist is a biologist who lives on the 35th floor of a high-rise, where only two floors sit above the water line. He battles a savage environment and primordial creatures that prowl the undergrowth.
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
The Husband’s Secret – The book by Liane Moriarty has been acquired by CBS Films for the big screen. The novel follows three different women whose lives are plunged into crises after one of the women opens a Pandora’s Box that ties all three women together in ways no one could have suspected.
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
The Queen of the Tearling – Warner Bros. Pictures have acquired the rights to the upcoming fantasy trilogy by Erika Johansen – that does not come out in print until sometime in 2014 – with Harry Potter actress Emma Watson attached to star in a story set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe when a malevolent Red Queen holds considerable power.
The Right Hand by Derek Haas
The Right Hand – Universal Pictures has optioned the spy thriller novel by Derek Haas that focuses on Austin Clay, a spy whose work is so covert that the government won’t even admit he exists; and yet he executes necessary missions. In this fourth book by Haas that was released in November will find Clay tracking down a missing American operative, who was captured in the Russian countryside, which leads Clay into a conspiracy that involves a mole that has penetrated the top levels of U.S. government.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch
Tomorrow and Tomorrow – Sony Pictures is adapting the Thomas Sweterlitsch novel – set to hit bookshelves in the summer of 2014 – that is set a decade after the destruction of Pittsburgh, following one survivor who discovers a scandalous cover-up regarding the city’s demise as he goes about creating a digital reproduction of the area.
Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay
Trust Your Eyes – Warner Bros. will adapt the Linwood Barclay novel that is a Rear Window-style paranoid thriller about a map-obsessed schizophrenic savant who witnesses a murder in New York through a computer map program, and then convinces his brother to investigate. These impulses never end well, and the siblings find themselves smack in the center of a deadly political conspiracy.
To say the least, it will be interesting to see how these adaptations (and the books from the rest of this series) turn out; especially to learn if they will become box office smashes or disasters.
Do you have a book you would like to see made into a film? Or do any of the above strike your fancy? Or would you rather not see any of the books listed above be made into a film for whatever reason? Please share.
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