Calling all self-confessed bookworms: a number of the world’s most famous novels, both young and old, are set to undergo the big screen treatment next year.
Jane Austen’s Emma has been given a millennial makeover with Anya Taylor-Joy set to take on the titular role of the “handsome, rich and clever” matchmaker.
Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon will executive produce (and star in) a television adaptation of 2017 best-seller Little Fires Everywhere.
A surefire way to banish those post-Christmas blues, these are the books you need to read before kicking back with the popcorn in 2020.
WATCH BELOW: All The Holiday Films And Series Coming To Netflix For Christmas 2019
The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell
Release date: January 31, 2020
Blake Lively surprised fans when she underwent an Instagram purge and deleted every single one of her posts (yes, all Ryan Reynolds content disappeared) bar one on November 17.
The only post left on her grid? A telling still from the trailer for forthcoming film The Rhythm Section which the 32-year-old first posted on September 20 – the ultimate PR stunt.
In the silver screen adaptation of the best-selling Mark Burnell novel, Lively takes on the role of Stephanie Patrick – an “ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash”.
After discovering that the traumatic incident was not an accident as previously believed, she vows to seek revenge.
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Jude Law stars alongside the actress in The Rhythm Section which sees The Handmaid’s Tale director, Reed Moreno, behind the camera.
“Stephanie is a survivor. She continues to test this in herself. Everything she puts herself through proves that,” Lively told Bustle.
Watch the trailer for The Rhythm Section below:
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenna Han
Release date: February 12, 2020
Firm fans of so-cheesy-it’s-perfect rom com To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (guilty!) are sure to be looking forward to the sequel.
Based on the second book by Jenna Han, P.S. I Still Love You, the sequel will introduce us to a surprise love triangle between Peter Kavinaky (Noah Centineo), Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher).
Speaking about the new couple’s relationship drama, Condor said: “It’s upsetting to me because I’m like: Lara Jean and Peter should be together forever!”
“But I’m not really in a place to be so put upon, to say, ‘I have to be with another guy.’ I think Noah is really excited because he wants more drama and conflict. I guess, so do I.”
Watch the trailer for P.S. I Still Love You below:
Emma by Jane Austen
Release date: February 14, 2020
19th century Jane Austen novel, Emma, has been given yet another reboot and it could well be in the running to become our new favourite.
The Focus Features remake sees Anya Taylor-Joy take on the role of Emma while The Crown fans will be pleased to see Josh O’Connor star alongside her, as he steps into young vicar Mr Elton’s polished shoes.
Mia Goth will also grace the screen as matched love interest Harriet Smith with other famous faces including Bill Nighy (Mr. Woodhouse), Johnny Flynn (George Knightley) and Miranda Hart (Miss Bates).
If that isn’t enough to see us book a seat, the adaptation also has director and photographer Autumn de Wilde at the helm – the mastermind behind Rodarte’s autumn/winter 18 look book.
For those not familiar with the plot, the novel follows the life of Emma Woodhouse, a rich young woman keen to play mischievous matchmaker for the singletons of her village.
But while she’s preoccupied with ensuring that close friend Harriet marries the local vicar – despite her infatuation with well-to-do farmer Robert Martin – the ever-charming Mr Knightley is pursuing Emma.
Cue a tangled web of love, misconstrued romance and a whole load of meddling.
Watch the trailer for Emma below:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Release date: March 18, 2020
Reese Witherspoon is currently working alongside fellow actress, Kerry Washington, on a television adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.
Produced by Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine, the series is set to air on US streaming giant Hulu and will see both Hollywood names star in and executive produce the forthcoming series.
The small screen adaptation is expected to closely follow the storyline and has even been given the go-ahead by author Celeste Ng.
She took to Twitter to tease the project, writing: “I cannot tell y’all details yet but you are going to love this adaptation. The writers are amazing and they’re doing such a fantastic job.”
“True to the characters and themes and plot, but with lots of new layers and some tweaks and twists,” she continued. “I cannot WAIT for you to see it.”
Closely following the 2017 page-turner, the series will land viewers in the town of Shaker Heights in Ohio. The plot revolves around the “intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives”.
A surprising friendship blossoms between the families’ children but a custody battle over a baby threatens to tear the entire town apart. “The story explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster,” the logline reads.
Witherspoon will take on the lead role of journalist and head of the Richardson household, Elena Richardson, with Joshua Jackson of Dawson’s Creek fame set to play her onscreen husband, Bill Richardson.
Meanwhile, Kerry Washington will assume the role of artist Mia Warren.
Watch the trailer for Little Fires Everywhere below:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Release date: Yet to be confirmed
Although we don’t have a lot of details just yet, a silver screen adaptation of 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert already looks promising.
Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya and Jason Momoa are tipped to star in the forthcoming film with Blade Runner 2049 director, Denis Villeneuve, at the helm.
The plot focuses upon the first book in the Dune franchise which is set in a far-flung universe where planets are divided amongst noble families.
But trouble brews when Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is granted power over desert planet Arrakis, also referred to as Dune, due to it being home to a widely-coveted spice called melange – which makes interstellar travel possible.
Speaking about the forthcoming film, Oscar Isaac told Entertainment Weekly: “I couldn’t imagine anyone more suited for the tone of the original Frank Herbert novels than Denis. There are some things that are – for lack of a better word – nightmarish about what you see… There’s just this kind of brutalist element to it.”
“It’s shocking. It’s scary. It’s very visceral.”
Calling all self-confessed bookworms: a number of the world’s most famous novels, both young and old, are set to undergo the big screen treatment next year.
Jane Austen’s Emma has been given a millennial makeover with Anya Taylor-Joy set to take on the titular role of the “handsome, rich and clever” matchmaker.
Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon will executive produce (and star in) a television adaptation of 2017 best-seller Little Fires Everywhere.
A surefire way to banish those post-Christmas blues, these are the books you need to read before kicking back with the popcorn in 2020.
WATCH BELOW: All The Holiday Films And Series Coming To Netflix For Christmas 2019
Calling all self-confessed bookworms: a number of the world’s most famous novels, both young and old, are set to undergo the big screen treatment next year.
Jane Austen’s Emma has been given a millennial makeover with Anya Taylor-Joy set to take on the titular role of the “handsome, rich and clever” matchmaker.
Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon will executive produce (and star in) a television adaptation of 2017 best-seller Little Fires Everywhere.
A surefire way to banish those post-Christmas blues, these are the books you need to read before kicking back with the popcorn in 2020.
WATCH BELOW: All The Holiday Films And Series Coming To Netflix For Christmas 2019
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