From beachy rom-coms to pulse-pounding thrillers, some of your favorite page-turners are getting the Hollywood treatment. Here are the biggest book-to-film adaptations arriving this year—what they’re based on, who’s starring, and why readers can’t wait to see them come alive.
“Hamnet” by Maggie O-Farrell
Set to star Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, Joe Alwyn, and Emily Watson.
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet adapts O’Farrell’s novel imagining the private grief behind Shakespeare’s later work, focusing on Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) after the death of their 11-year-old son. The film premiered at Telluride in August 2025 and rolled out theatrically in late 2025 in the U.S., with a UK release set for January 9, 2026.
If you’re framing this as “coming to screens this year,” the UK/intl rollout is the clean 2026 hook.
“The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden
Set to star Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Michele Marrone.
McFadden’s twisty domestic thriller becomes a glossy big-screen guilty pleasure directed by Paul Feig. The story follows Millie (Sydney Sweeney), who takes a job as a housemaid for the wealthy Winchesters—only to realize the household is a trap of secrets, manipulation, and shifting power dynamics. Amanda Seyfried plays Nina, with Brandon Sklenar as Andrew.
The movie opened in U.S. theaters on December 19, 2025, so its “new” screen life may still spill into early 2026 via international releases and streaming windows.
“His & Hers” by Alice Feeney
Set to star Tessa Thompson, Jon Bernthal, Pablo Schreiber, Crystal Fox, Sunita Mani, and Rebecca Rittenhouse.
This isn’t a film—Netflix turned Feeney’s bestseller into a six-episode limited series led by Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, set around a murder investigation with two exes pulled into the same dark orbit. Netflix Tudum reports it premieres January 8, 2026, with filmmaker William Oldroyd involved creatively (noted as a key behind-the-camera name).
It’s built to deliver the book’s “who do you trust?” vibes through cliffhangers and perspective shifts rather than a single two-hour reveal.
“People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry
Set to star Tom Blyth, Emily Bader, Lucian Laviscount, Jameela Jamil, Lukas Gage, and Sarah Catherine Hook.
Emily Henry’s friends-to-lovers rom-com hits Netflix as a feature film on January 9, 2026. Brett Haley directs, with Tom Blyth as Alex and Emily Bader as Poppy—two opposites who take one vacation a year until something fractures their tradition and forces a reckoning.
The adaptation leans into the book’s emotional tension: comedic travel beats on the surface, a slow-burn “what are we?” underneath, and one last trip that finally makes them say the quiet part out loud.
“The First Time I Saw Him” by Laura Dave
Adapted to “The Last Thing He Told Me” (season 2) and starring Jennifer Garner, Angourie Rice, David Morse, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Judy Greer, and Rita Wilson.
This one is the outlier: it’s a book release (a sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me) with a confirmed publication date—January 6, 2026—but no officially announced screen adaptation yet. The premise continues Hannah Hall’s life years after Owen’s disappearance, with the danger resurfacing when he reappears.
You can mention the built-in screen pedigree: the original novel already became an Apple TV+ series, which makes the sequel feel “adaptation-ready,” but accuracy-wise, it’s best framed as “new novel that could be next.”
“Bridgerton” (Season 4) by Julia Quinn
Set to star Luke Thompson, Yerin Ha, Jonathan Bailey, Claudia Jessie, Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Katie Leung, Michelle Mao, and Isabella Wei.
Netflix’s Bridgerton continues its Julia Quinn-inspired universe with Season 4, shifting to a new romantic focus in the ton while keeping the franchise’s signature mix of yearning, scandal, and social spectacle. Netflix’s January 2026 slate includes “Bridgerton: Season 4 Part 1” arriving January 29, 2026, which is the clearest dated piece of the rollout.
If you need “premiere” language, call out Part 1’s date and note that the season is released in parts rather than a single drop.