Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.
It’s a new year, which means we have a whole new calendar of exciting book adaptations to geek out over. From highly anticipated sequels to brand-new adaptations and from big theatrical releases to marathon-worthy streaming series, January adaptations are starting out with a bang. Here are the adaptations coming out this month that you should add to your watchlist, like, immediately.
Mayfair Witches (AMC, January 5)
Just five days into the new year, we get the second season of AMC’s Mayfair Witches, based on the novels by Anne Rice. Returning for the second season is, of course, Alexandra Daddario, who plays Rowan. Jack Huston, Tongayi Chirisa, and Harry Hamlin are also back for round two. Joining the cast this season is Ben Feldman as Sam Larkin, aka “Lark,” and Alyssa Jirrels as Rowan’s cousin Moira. This show is part of AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe, which also includes Interview with the Vampire and the upcoming The Talamasca.
Goosebumps (Disney+, January 10)
Disney+ released season one of Goosebumps week by week, but this year, on January 10, Disney+ is giving us the whole season of Goosebumps: the Vanishing in one go. Season two introduces a new story and a new cast. This season stars David Schwimmer as Anthony, a former botany professor who is spending a summer in Gravesend, Brooklyn. Coming along with him are his twins Devin (Sam McCarthy) and Cece (Jayden Bartels), who immediately realize something strange is going on. This series is obviously based on the widely read and beloved Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.
XO, Kitty (Netflix, January 16)
XO, Kitty isn’t technically an adaptation in and of itself, but it is a spin-off of the To All the Boys movies, which are based on the books by Jenny Han. So yes, Kitty is a character in Han’s books, and XO, Kitty was also created and produced by Han. Not to play favorites, but if you haven’t watched season one of XO, Kitty, you absolutely should. It’s delightful. And we ended on quite the cliffhanger, so XO, Kitty fans (myself included) are super excited for round two. And we’re getting three new characters: Audrey Huynh (ANZBBGRL, Wyrm) as Stella, Sasha Bhasin (Brave the Dark) as Praveena, and Joshua Lee (Gangnam Project) as Jin. All our faves are also back: Anna Cathcart (Kitty), Minyeong Choi (Dae), Gia Kim (Yuri), Sang Heon Lee (Min Ho), Anthony Keyvan (Q), Peter Thurnwald (Alex), and Regan Aliyah (Juliana).
Paddington in Peru (Theatrical Release, January 17)
The Paddington movies, based on the books by Michael Bond, are highly ranked among both critics and audiences. And in January, we’re getting the third installment: Paddington in Peru. Ben Whishaw returns to voice Paddington, who heads to Peru with his adopted family, the Browns, to visit his Aunt Lucy. The star-studded cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, and Hayley Atwell. This is director Dougal Wilson’s feature film debut.
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Levon’s Trade (Theatrical Release, January 17)
This upcoming action thriller film is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Chuck Dixon. The story follows Levon Cade (Jason Statham), an ex-black ops agent who is tasked with finding his boss’s missing teen daughter. The film is directed by David Ayer, who also co-wrote the script with Sylvester Stallone. The film also stars David Harbour, Michael Peña, Jason Flemyng, Arianna Rivas, Noemi Gonzalez, Emmett J. Scanlan, Eve Mauro, Maximilian Osinski, Kristina Poli, Andrej Kaminsky, and Isla Gie.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney+, January 29)
Here’s a fun new animated series coming to Disney+: a show following the early days of everyone’s favorite Marvel superhero. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man stars Hudson Thames as Spider-Man and imagines an alternate universe where Norman Osborn (played by Colman Domingo) becomes Parker’s mentor. And while the first season of this series doesn’t come out until the end of January, a second season is already in development.
Dog Man (Theatrical Release, January 31)
Dav Pilkey’s children’s graphic novel series Dog Man is getting a big-screen film adaptation! When a police officer and his dog Greg are injured on a job, a life-saving surgery turns them into Dog Man! Dog Man dedicates his life to serving and protecting, but his nemesis, Petey the Cat, has some tricks up his sleeves. The Dreamworks film stars Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais. It’s directed by Peter Hastings.
All of this adaptation news is so exciting. However, the vast majority of these are adaptations of books by white authors. In addition to checking these out, I encourage you to seek out the adaptations of books from authors of color that you might have missed from this past year. Some of my favorites: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams.
English (US) · 