2017 Films and TV Based on Books: Read the Book First!
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, July 2017
The Book: Valerian & Laureline by Jean-Claude Mézières and Pierre Christin
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Ethan Hawke, Rhianna
Plot: A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
The Zookeeper’s Wife, March 2017
The Book: The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Daniel Bruhl, Johan Heldenbergh
Plot: The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion.
The Lost City of Z, March 2017
The Book: The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Starring: Robert Pattison, Charlie Hannum, Sienna Miller
Plot: A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.
Wonder, November 2017
The Book: Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The Trailer: not yet available.
Starring: Julia Roberts, Mandy Patinkin, Owen Wilson
Plot: Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Everything Everything, May 2017
The Book: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Anika Noni Rose
Plot: A teenager who’s lived a sheltered life because she’s allergic to everything, falls for the boy who moves in next door.
The Circle, April 2017
The Book: The Circle by David Eggers
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega
Plot: A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, only to uncover a nefarious agenda that will affect the lives of her friends, family and that of humanity.
My Cousin Rachel, June 2017
The Book: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Holliday Grainger
Plot: A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
The Dark Tower, August 2017
The Book: The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Katheryn Winnick, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey
Plot: The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, roams an Old West-like landscape where “the world has moved on” in pursuit of the man in black. Also searching for the fabled Dark Tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.
It, September 2017
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, Javier Botet
Plot: Children start to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine. The neighborhood children unite together to face Pennywise, an evil clown whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
The Mountains Between Us, October 2017
The Book: The Mountains Between Us by Charles Martin
The Trailer: Not yet available
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Dermot Mulroney
Plot: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu Series, April 2017
The Book: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Starring: Jordana Blake, Alexis Bledel, O-T Fagbenle
Plot: Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.
13 Reasons Why, Available now on Netflix
The Book: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Starring: Dylan Minnette, Katherine Langford, Christian Navarro
Plot: Follows teenager Clay Jensen, in his quest to uncover the story behind his classmate and crush, Hannah, and her decision to end her life.
The Glass Castle, 2017
The Book: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Brie Larson, Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson
Plot: A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.
The Dinner, May 2017
The Book: The Dinner by Herman Koch
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan
Plot: A look at how far parents will go to protect their children. Feature film based on a novel by Herman Koch.
Berlin Syndrome, May 2017
The Book: Berlin Syndrome by Melanie Joosten
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt, Lucie Aron
Plot: A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship, when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
Tulip Fever, August 2017
The Book: Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHaan, Christoph Waltz
Plot: An artist falls for a young married woman while he’s commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.
Annihilation, 2017
The Book: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
The Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac
Plot: A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply.
The Snowman, October 2017
The Book: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and Don Bartlett
The Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Michael Fassbender, Val Kilmer
Plot: Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose pink scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.
Murder on the Orient Express, November 2017
The Book: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad
Plot: A lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into the thrilling mystery of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.
Call Me By Your Name, November 2017
The Book: Call Me By Your Name by André Aicman
The Trailer: not yet available
Starring: Elena Bucci, Vanda Capriolo, Amira Casar
Plot: Summer of 1983, Northern Italy. An American-Italian is enamored by an American student who comes to study and live with his family. Together they share an unforgettable summer full of music, food, and romance that will forever change them.