What's better: the book or the film? It's an age-old argument, and we're still not sure which side of the fence we sit on. To make things even harder, we've got 11 incredibly exciting literary adaptations coming to screens big and small this year that are hoping to prove nothing beats seeing a story brought to life by actors, sets and costumes.
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From the long-awaited Conversations with Friends to Netflix's new take on a classic Jane Austen novel, these are the book-to-screen adaptations we're most looking forward to watching this year…
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The Sandman
If you're a fan of DC Comics then this one is for you. The Sandman TV series has been adapted from the famous comic books and will see Morpheus the King of Dreams on screens.
The project was originally developed as a film, but will now be released on Netflix in a 12-episode series format. The cast features stars such as Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance and Asim Chaudhry.
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The Sandman, £10.65, Amazon
The Peripheral
The Peripheral is a sci-fi series set to land on Amazon in 2022 and is based on the mystery-thriller by William Gibson. The story follows Flynne and her brother Burton. Burton, a former US Marine, takes a job as a security officer in what he thinks is cyberspace, but when Flynne begins to delve further into her brother's new job – she discovers something more sinister.
The TV series is being developed by the creators of Westworld and the cast will feature Chloe Grace Moretz as Flynne and Jack Reynor as Burton.
The Peripheral, £7.37, Amazon
The Midnight Club
The Midnight Club is a horror-mystery novel written by Christopher Pike which is coming to Netflix very soon. The story follows seven terminally ill young adults who reside in a Rotterdam hospice and meet every night at midnight to swap scary stories.
They gang make a pact that whoever succumbs to their disease first is responsible for communicating with the rest of them from beyond the grave. Suddenly, one of them dies and then strange things start happening.
The Midnight Club, £6.88, Amazon
Bullet Train
Bullet Train is based on a dangerous train journey, as five onboard assassins travel from Tokyo to Morioka, their objectives all connected. In the film, one of the assassins, named Ladybug, wants to give up his job as a trained killer but gets pulled back into it by his handler, Maria Beetle, to collect a briefcase from the bullet train.
The film stars Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Hiroyuki Sanada and Zazie Beetz and is due for release in July.
Bullet Train, £7.37, Amazon
Conversations with Friends
Following the success of Normal People, Sally Rooney's first novel, Conversations with Friends is also being adapted for TV - and by the same team so you know it's going to be good!
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Conversations with Friends, £4.48, Amazon
The 12-episode BBC/ Hulu series will star newcomer Alison Oliver and The Miseducation of Cameron Post actress Sasha Lane as two Dublin college students who forge a strange and sexually charged relationship with an older married couple - played by The Favourite star Joe Alwyn and Sex Education actress Jemima Kirke.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Speaking of Normal People, Daisy Edgar-Jones is set to star in the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing as the 'Marsh Girl' Kya, whose idyllic but lonely life in the swamplands of South Carolina is interrupted when she becomes caught up in a murder investigation.
Where the Crawdads Sing, £5.00, Amazon
Last year it was announced that the film has been given an early June 2022 release date, meaning we don't have too much longer to wait.
Everything I Know About Love
Everything I Know About Love was the book everyone was talking about back in 2018, and this year the Dolly Alderton memoir is coming to screens in the form of a seven-part drama starring The Witcher's Emma Appleton and The Morning Show star Bel Powley as two best friends.
Everything I Know About Love, £7.37, Amazon
The synopsis for the show reads: "Set in a 2012 London house-share with flashbacks to suburban adolescence in the early noughties, the series is an unflinching deep dive into bad dates, heartaches and humiliations and begs the question: can platonic love survive romantic love as we grow up?"
Daisy Jones and the Six
We can't wait to see this brought to life on screen! Taylor Jenkins Reid's New York Times bestseller Daisy Jones and the Six recounts the story of the rise and fall of a fictional '70s band and will soon be brought to life in a ten-part series, courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.
Daisy Jones and the Six, £5.00, Amazon
The casting for the rock 'n' roll drama couldn't be more perfect, as Riley Keough, who will take on the lead role, is actually the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. Joining her in the cast are Sam Claflin and Suki Waterhouse, among others.
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Persuasion
Netflix promises to bring viewers a "modern and witty" new version of Jane Austen's classic novel Persuasion this year, starring Fifty Shades star Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliot, rising star Cosmo Jarvis as Frederick Wentworth, and Last Christmas actor Henry Golding as William Elliot.
Persuasion, £9.99, Amazon
The official synopsis for the upcoming adaptation reads: "Living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy, Anne Elliot is an unconforming woman with modern sensibilities. When Frederick Wentworth – the dashing one she once sent away – crashes back into her life, Anne must choose between putting the past behind her or listening to her heart when it comes to second chances."
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
The bestselling novel The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is getting the small screen treatment in the form of a new ITV series, starring Blue Story actress Karla-Simone Spence as a young woman born into a life of slavery who finds herself on trial.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton, £7.37, Amazon
Joining her in the cast are Kingsman: The Secret Service star Sophie Cookson, Redemption actor Patrick Martins and Stephen Campbell Moore, who appeared in the first Downton Abbey film. Viewers will hopefully see it as part of ITV's Autumn/Winter schedule in late 2022.
The Essex Serpent
Another Victorian-set period drama we can't wait for this year is Apple TV+'s adaptation of Sarah Perry's best-selling novel 2016 novel The Essex Serpent, starring Tom Hiddleston and Homeland actress Claire Danes.
The Essex Serpent, £7.37, Amazon
The duo will portray Will Ransome, the trusted leader of a small seaside village in Essex, and Cora Seaborne, a recent widower who becomes engrossed by a local superstition of a mythical sea creature after relocating to the rural community. No release date has been set yet, but we expect the six-part drama to air sometime this year.
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My Policeman
Not only does the upcoming adaptation of Bethan Roberts My Policeman have a fascinating storyline, but it also boasts a great cast too! Amazon Prime Video has enlisted the hugely talented The Crown star Emma Corrin and popstar-turned-actor Harry Styles to bring the 1950s story of love and betrayal to life.
My Policeman, £7.37, Amazon
The film is set to be released on the streaming service sometime this year and follows a woman named Marion who falls in love and marries a man named Tom. Their marriage is a seemingly happy one until years, she discovers that Tom has a lover, an educated and cultured museum curator named Patrick.
The Time Traveler's Wife
While we all love the 2009 movie version starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, Doctor Who's Steven Moffatt is set to breathe new life into the epic time-travelling romance with a brand new miniseries adaptation. Downton Abbey stars Rose Leslie and Theo James will be taking on the roles of Clare and her time-hopping husband Henry in the new series, which will be hitting screens via HBO very soon.
The Time Traveler's Wife, £8.19, Amazon
Speaking about the project, Steven said: "This is a story of loss but it's not a tragedy. It's about a time traveler but it's not science fiction. Despite Clare and Henry's time scrambled relationship, this is the tale of a grand, ordinary love – but not necessarily in that order."
Magpie Murders
Fans of Anthony Horowitz's murder mystery novel Magpie Murders will be thrilled to hear that the bestseller was made into a TV series for BritBox which launched in April.
Magpie Murders, £7.99, Amazon
The series follows an editor named Susan Ryeland, played by Leslie Manville, who investigates the murder of one of her author clients by the clues left in one of the manuscripts of his famous Atticus Pünd detective novels.
Death on the Nile
This long-delayed Agatha Christe adaptation finally hit cinemas earlier this year after much anticipation. The synopsis for the film, which is a follow up to director Kenneth Branagh's first outing as Poirot in 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, reads: "Hercule Poirot's Egyptian adventure aboard a glamorous river steamer descends into a terrifying search for a murderer when an idyllic honeymoon is shattered by violent deaths."
Death on the Nile, £6.00, Amazon
The film has an incredible cast, including Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot, Black Panther star Letitia Wright, Sex Education actress Emma Mackey and Downton Abbey's Rose Leslie.
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