The news was so shocking that I gasped upon reading the headline and frantically texted my close circle of friends using every exclamatory emoji at my immediate disposal. OMG!!! I confirmed with a copy-and-pasted link from the reputable-looking source — The Devil Wears Prada 2 is happening! With an official May 2026 release date and everything.
I share this anecdote not just as a subtle reminder to unearth your cerulean sweater from 2006. The Devil Wears Prada also happens to be a prime example of a buzzy and beloved book that turned into an equally buzzy and beloved movie. (FYI, its sequel is inspired by Lauren Weisberger’s 2013 novel Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns.) Yes, “the book is better” is an automatic default. I don’t have room to list all the recent examples here, but I’m still looking at you, The Glass Castle and The Girl on the Train. But it’s oh-so-satisfying when a movie adaptation expands on the original source material and delivers the goods.
This proclamation doesn’t just apply to every iteration of Little Women. Oscar darling Conclave was a novel. There would be no Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni drama had Colleen Hoover not first written about domestic abuse with such poignancy in It Ends with Us. A decade later, I still harbor mixed feelings about the casting of Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in the movie version of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, but I’m willing to let it slide in the name of director David Fincher’s artistry.
So now that you’ve spent the summer catching up on beach reads and have done your own internal casting, let’s turn the page and see the drama play out on the big and small screens. (And, if you’re not caught up yet, there’s still time.) Tantalizing options back for seconds are in the mix, from a thriller by the master of suspense to a popular The Wizard of Oz prequel.
Here’s a roundup of the eight most highly anticipated adaptations coming this fall. Enjoy the shows!
The Thursday Murder Club
Based on: Richard Osman’s 2020 novel
Starring: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Naomie Ackie
Premiere: Is currently on Netflix
The Buzz: This juicy caper set in an English retirement village follows four feisty pals — played by Mirren, Brosnan, Kingsley and Imrie — who meet up every Thursday to delve into unsolved murders for fun. After a case hits close to home, they start investigating. Director Chris Columbus, who gave us Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire, promised that the witty humor and emotional complexity in Osman’s debut novel has “been preserved.” Couple that vibe with a classy British cast that includes two Oscar winners and a former James Bond, and we’ve got bloody good times.
Cold Storage
Based on: David Koepp’s 2019 novel
Starring: Liam Neeson, Joe Keery, Lesley Manville, Sosie Bacon
Premiere: Feb. 6, 2026 in theaters
The Buzz: You probably don’t recognize his name, but Koepp scripted blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible (the first and best one!) and Panic Room. Now he adapts his white-knuckled debut thriller about a Pentagon bioterror operative sent to investigate a suspected biochemical attack. The agent finds a highly mutative organism capable of extinction-level destruction. Though he buries it beneath a little-used military repository, the specimen ends up getting out. Non-spoiler spoiler: Neeson plays the operative, so relax, we’re going to be fine… maybe.
Regretting You
Based on: Colleen Hoover’s 2019 novel