38 Books to Read Before They're Turned Into Juicy Movies and TV Shows (2025)

Show:Lupin

Netflix's first hit of 2021 was a modern, meta take onMaurice LeBlanc's famousArséne Lupin, Gentleman-Thiefnovels, considered theSherlock Holmesof France. Omar Sy plays Assane Diop, a man who learns to become a skilled thief through studying LeBlanc's novels. After season 1's cliffhanger, we're excited for Lupintoreturn in the summer of 2021.

Starring:Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Soufiane Guerrab, Clotilde Hesme

Released On:January 8, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:The Dig

Real life is often stranger than fiction—and so is this novel that's based on an extraordinary turn of events. In England during WWII, a widowed farmer finds a treasure in her backyard: Medieval ruins dating back to the 6th and 7th centuries.

Starring:Carey Mulligan,Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn

Released On:January 15, 2021 on Netflix

Series:Firefly Lane

Firefly Laneis a binge-watch made for streamingwith your bestie. Tully and Kate meet as teenagers in the '70s, and become fast friends. They bear witness to the drama of each others' lives.Both the Netflix show and novel switch between their childhood, their young adulthood, and the present day, where they're still living out their dreams. We already have a feeling about where thesecond season is headed.

Starring:Firefly Lane'scast includesKatherine Heigl, SarahChalke, and Ben Lawson.

Released On:February 1,2021 on Netflix

Movie:Alwaysand Forever, Lara Jean

The final installment in Jenny Han's much-beloved YA trilogy is out now.Get ready to send Lara Jean (Lana Condor) off to college, and find out how the series's many love triangles resolve themselves.Don't be sad it's over: You can always watch it again.

The Cast:Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, John Corbett

Released On:February 12, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:French Exit

Patrick DeWitt wrote the novelandscreenplay forFrench Exit, an arch comedyabout a widow who goes to Paris with her son to spend the rest of her inheritance in style.

The Cast:Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges

Released On:February 12,2021 in theaters

Series: The Luminaries

Eleanor Cattan wrote this six-episode adaptation of her own Booker Prize-winning novel, set during NewZealand's gold rush in the 1860s.On a ship from England to NewZealand,Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) and Emery Staines (Himesh Patel) meet and fall in love—and then are kept apart by the various larger-than-life plot twists that ensue. Cattan associated each of the characters with a zodiac sign. See if you can guess which is which.

Starring: Eve Hewson, Eva Green, Himesh Patel

Released On:February 14,2021 on Starz

Movie: Nomadland

Nomadlandwas thewinner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. The acclaimed moviewas inspired by Jessica Bruder's nonfiction book about the rise of American seniors who travel from job to job in RVs.Frances McDormand, who won Best Actress, acts alongsidereal-life nomads in the movie, who were also featured in Bruder's book.

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Straitharn

Released On:February 16, 2021 on Hulu

Show:BehindHer Eyes

Avoidallspoilers when it comes to this psychological thriller, which was turned into a six-part miniseries on Netflix.In the book, a single mother named Louise is pulled into a mysterious married couple's web. We'd tell you what comes next—but we don't want to ruin the surprise (though if you're curious, read this).

Starring:Behind Her Eyes'scast includesSimona Brown, Eve Hewson, and Tom Bateman.

Released On:February 17, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:Cherry

Nico Walker wrote the semi-autobiographical novelCherrywhile he was serving prison time for bank robbery. Known for its distinct literary style,Cherrytells the story of how one veteran's struggle with addiction led to crime. In case you're curious, Walker explains the meaning of the title:“Cherry” is army slang for a soldier who is new to acombat zone.

Starring:TomHolland,Forrest Goodluck, andBill Skarsgård

Released On:February 26,2021 in theaters, andMarch 12, 2021onApple TV+.

TV Show:Shadow and Bone

YA legend Leigh Bardugo's many books, all set in the same universe (called the Grishaverse), collide in this highlyanticipated Netflix series. Fans of Netflix's gripping Money Heistwill appreciate the heist elements borrowed from Bardugo'sSix of Crowsduology, one of two series included inthe show.

Starring:Ben Barnes,Jessie Mei Li, Freddy Carter,Danielle Galligan, and Kit Young

Released On: April 23, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:Things Heard & Seen

Watch the Netflix adaptation of this psychological thriller before anyone spoils the ending for you. In the movie, Amanda Seyfried plays a Manhattan artist who relocates to the Hudson Valley with her husband. After the move, secrets about her marriageandher old home come out.

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Natalia DyerJames Norton

Released On:April 29, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:Without Remorse

John Clark is a Navy SEAL whose life changes overnight when his wife is killed by a drug lord. In his quest for retribution, John becomes caught up in a larger conspiracy.

Starring:Jamie Bell,Jodie Turner-Smith, andPeople's Sexiest Man Alive of 2020, Michael B. Jordan as John Clark

Release Date:April 30,2021 on PrimeVideo

Movie:Monster

Winning the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and other accolades,Walter Dean Myers's novelMonsteris a classic of children's literature. It tells the story of a 16-year-oldteenager incarcerated for a murder charge. Years after its 1999 publication,Monster's movie adaptation premiered at Sundance in 2018, but was acquired by Netflix in 2020, perShadow and Act.

Starring:Kelvin Harrison Jr. ofThe High Note leads the cast whichincludesWhen They See Us'sJharrel Jerome, John David Washington,Jennifer Hudson, Tim Blake Nelson, Nas and A$AP Rocky.

Release Date:May 7, 2021 on Netflix

Movie: Finding You

Finding Youwill sweep viewers away to Ireland, where the romance is set (and entirely filmed). On a retreat to an Irish coastal town, violinistFinley Sinclair (Rose Reid) meets a movie star, Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), on a shoot. But what happens when the vacation ends?

Starring:Katherine McNamara,Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Everett Scott,Rose Reid,Jedidiah Goodacre

Release Date:May 13, 2021

Show:TheUnderground Railroad

TheUnderground Railroadcomes to us from an award-winning bunch:Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins directs this adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel, which won thePulitzer Prize and National Book Award. The alternate history imagines the existence of an actual underground railroad that transported fugitive slaves northward in the 19th century.

Starring:Thuso Mbedu plays Cora, a young woman who escapes a Georgia plantation.

Release Date:May 14, 2021 on Prime Video

Movie:The Woman in the Window

After many delays,this psychological thriller will soon be available to watch. Amy Adams plays a woman confined to her New Yorkapartment who, through the window, sees something nefarious unfold in a neighbor's home, or so she believes.The story behind Finn's book is just as winding as the plot itself.

Starring:The star-studded cast includes Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore, Tracy Letts, andJennifer Jason Leigh.

Release Date:May 14, 2021 on Netflix

Movie:Those Who Wish Me Dead

After witnessing a murder, a14-year-old is issued a false identity and has to hide in the woods. The bad guys, of course, remain hot on the trail.

The Cast:Angelina Jolie stars in the gritty thriller, directed by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario).

Release Date:May 14, 2021 in theaters and HBO Max.

Movie:Fatherhood

Matthew Logelin was by his wife Liz's, side, when their daughter was born. Hours later, Liz died of a pulmonary embolism. PaulWeitz directs the adaptation of Matthew's tear-jerker of a memoir.

Starring:Kevin Hart stars as Matthew, a man on an unexpected journey into solo fatherhood.Alfre Woodard, Lil Rel Howery, Anthony Carrigan, and DeWanda Wise co-star.

Release Date:June 18, 2021

Series:Panic

Every year, the graduating high schoolseniors of a smallTexas town challenge each other to a life-threatening game. The stakes are high, but so is the prize money. For Dodge and Heather, the potential for $67,000 is worth risking their lives in the game's most dangerous iteration yet.

Starring:The one-hour drama series starsOlivia Welch, Mike Faist, and Jessica Sula.

Release Date:May 28, 2021 on Prime Video.

Movie:Cruella

Don't be fooled by the title:The Dalmatians were never the stars of101 Dalmatians.The black-and-white-haired villain, Cruella De Vil, was. In a new movieCruella, the iconic character's origin storywill take the spotlight. Dodie Smith (I Capture the Castle) wrote the children's book that started it all.

Starring:Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Kirby Howell-Baptiste,Mark Strong, Jamie Demetriou

Release Date:May 28, 2021 in theaters and Disney+