I’m always equally hesitant and excited when it comes to book adaptations. Some books seem tailor-made for adaptations, with a concept or the level of spectacle you’d expect to find in a Hollywood production. Other books are not so suited for the big screen treatment or television, because they are too abstract or complex to be contained in a two-hour film. The sci-fi genre can honestly fit into either of these categories, depending on the novel.
But thankfully, studios keep trying to bring popular sci-fi books to the big screen or small, looking for that next big hit. As someone who is always on the lookout for great sci-fi films, underrated or otherwise, I’m ever-hopeful that the genre can become as mainstream and popular in film as it’s become on television in this modern era of storytelling. Regardless, there are some upcoming book adaptations that I’m keeping my eyes on more than anything else.
Project Hail Mary
One of the best sci-fi authors around
Andy Weir has been absolutely killing it in the sci-fi genre for a while now. The Martian has already been adapted to the big screen, and it was an excellent film that really captured the spirit of the novel. The screenwriter for that film, Drew Goddard, is now set to adapt his second Weir novel with Project Hail Mary, with the brilliant directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm. Personally, I think Project Hail Mary is an even better novel than The Martian and exactly cinematic enough for the movie treatment.
Focusing on Rylan Grace (Ryan Gosling), a man who wakes up on board a spacecraft with absolutely no memory, who eventually recalls that he’s on a mission to save the Earth after the sun begins dying, Project Hail Mary is a gorgeously told story. Like The Martian, it’s also incredibly funny, and I expect that Goddard will manage to bring Weir’s whip-smart wit to the big screen without much issue. Project Hail Mary is one of the first big releases of 2026, and honestly, it can’t come soon enough.
Project Hail Mary
- Release Date
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March 20, 2026
- Runtime
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166 Minutes
- Director
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Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Dune: Part Three
It’s about to get really strange
Dune: Part Two was one of the best movies of 2024, easily. Director Denis Villeneuve clearly understands the source material, and he brought plenty of complexity and spectacle in equal measure to his two-part adaptation of the first novel. With Dune: Part Three, he’ll move on to adapting Dune Messiah, and I honestly can not wait. The second book in the series is where things really start to get bonkers in the Dune universe.
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It’s also the book that really begins to deconstruct the chosen narrative that was established so heavily in the first book. Villeneuve has already added elements of this in his first two films, so this will likely not come as a shock to non-book-readers. Still, I’ll be interested to see how the filmmaker adds his own flavors to Dune: Part Three, especially on a visual level. Even if you’re not a fan of the source material or the narrative of the books and, by association, the movies, you have to admit that they’re a visual treat. I expect more of that in the third part.
Dune: Part Three
- Release Date
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December 18, 2026
- Director
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Denis Villeneuve
- Writers
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Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
The saga continues
Other than the endless attempts to turn Harry Potter into a franchise, I can’t think of a young adult series that’s been trying to do the same thing quite like The Hunger Games. In 2023, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes dropped and was a moderate box office success. That movie, like the book, detailed the origins of President Snow and really helped fill out the world. Well, now the series is back with another prequel/sequel in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
This time around, we get some details on the life of Haymitch (Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy, Joseph Zada in the forthcoming film), one of the more popular characters in the entire series. While I definitely have voiced my issues with what I perceive to be pointless prequels like Welcome to Derry, I do think that there’s some rich stuff to be found here. The book is actually quite good, better than any book in the series since Catching Fire, at least in my view. This could be something special if done right.
Neuromancer
Apple TV+ is keeping its love affair with sci-fi alive and well
I’m just so thankful for Apple TV+ and its continued efforts to bring smart, well-crafted science fiction to audiences everywhere. From Severance to Pluribus, fans have been treated to greatness thus far from the premium streamer. Really, Apple TV+ has arguably become the home of prestige television, even over networks like HBO, and a lot of that is thanks to its line-up of sci-fi shows.
And yet, one of the more exciting productions has yet to be released. Neuromancer, the popular book by William Gibson, is set to debut on Apple TV+ at some point in the future. The source material arguably helped launch cyberpunk to the level of popularity that it’s in now, and it’ll be interesting to see how the series brings some of its more heady themes to fruition. Either way, if there’s one network that can pull it off, it’s definitely going to be Apple TV+.
Neuromancer
- Network
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Apple TV+
- Showrunner
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Graham Roland
- Directors
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J.D. Dillard
Sci-fi is alive and well
These are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg of adaptations in the works. There are tons of books and stories in the early development stages that simply do not have enough information to comment on yet. Still, it’s good to see that Hollywood hasn’t completely abandoned the genre. I’m very hopeful that 2026 could be a big year for fans, as well, especially if Project Hail Mary and Dune: Part Three prove to be major hits.
Now, if only Hollywood could figure out how to revitalize the fantasy genre and get general audiences interested again, we’d all be much better off.
