Hollywood is always searching for "the next big thing." Fantasy books have been fodder for some of the most lucrative box office franchises, such as The Lord of the Rings Harry Potter and Twilight (although that's definitely more romance than anything else). Now we can add The Hunger Games to that group.

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Plenty of studios have attempted to adapt various young adult novels and fantasy series in hopes of finding the next Hunger Games or Twilight. Looking at films like The Golden Compass, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, it's clear that literary success doesn't always translate to big box office numbers. (Percy Jackson is at least getting a sequel, which is more than can be said for Golden Compass or Lemony Snicket.)But that won't stop studios from trying. With that in mind, we've decided to pick out a handful of popular novels that have the potential to become the next big thing in Hollywood. The list includes not just young adult franchises, but series that have the ability to appeal to wide audiences. We tried to avoid too many examples of teen vampire romance or young wizarding heroes, as both originality and sheer, dumb luck play big roles in whether these films skyrocket or crash and burn.Eoin ColferOf all the series on this list, Artemis Fowl might be the one we're most surprised hasn't turned up in theaters yet. Author Eoin Colfer described the first book as "Die Hard with fairies." What's not to love about that?The books follow Artemis Fowl II, a 12-year-old with a genius intellect and a desire for wealth. When the first book opens, Fowl kidnaps a fairy and holds her for ransom. But despite this, Fowl is a surprisingly likable character. The rampant humor helps. The books touch on universal themes of greed and the ongoing conflict between good and evil. In other words, it's exactly the sort of thing that can appeal to kids and parents interested in something a little deeper.Jim Sheridan reportedly wrote an adaptation of the first novel several years ago, but so far we have yet to hear any news of a studio green-lighting that script or commissioning another.Patrick RothfussThe Kingkiller Chronicle combines elements of many popular fantasy series – the detailed mythology and history of Tolkien's Middle-earth, the wizards and magical academies of Harry Potter – but the result is something wholly unique. Even the format is novel, as the three books (two released so far) play out across two different time periods. Main hero Kvothe is a famous musician, wizard, and adventurer who recounts his life's story to a biographer known as Chronicler.The juxtaposition of present day and flashback segments is one of the series' primary strengths. It highlights the theme that how men view themselves and how they actually are can often be very different things. Done well, the movies could be the fantasy equivalent of Citizen Kane, leaving it up to audiences to decide just what sort of person Kvothe really was.No word yet on a possible Hollywood adaptation. Studios may simply be waiting for the trilogy to wrap up, as Rothfuss has a George R.R. Martin-esque ability to leave his fans hanging for years at a time.Pamela SargentGoing from Harry Potter to Twilight to Hunger Games, we've seen the trend shift from fantasy to science fiction. Maybe the next big thing is a franchise that delves even deeper into sci-i territory. In that case, what better series of books than the Seed Trilogy?The original Earthseed is considered a classic of the Young Adult realm. The book follows the journey of a group of teens on a ship desperately searching for a new planet to restart the human race. When a potential home is selected, the teens are forced to develop survival skills within the ship's artificial habitat. It's almost like Hunger Games in space.Beneath the cool premise, the books succeed because of the well-written and defined characters. Even the ship's artificial intelligence is a memorable addition to the cast. And like Hunger Games and Harry Potter before it, the story has plenty to say about the trials and tribulations of becoming an adult.Paramount clearly see the "next big thing" potential in Earthseed. They've optioned the series and even hired Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter of all five Twilight films) to adapt it.Lev GrossmanAs we mentioned, we're trying to avoid picking series that fall too close to the Harry Potter/Twilight/Hunger Games formula. But in the case of the Magicians , the similarities to the Potter novels are half the appeal. The book and its sequel, The Magician King, tell the story of Quentin Coldwater, a geekish, disaffected teen who receives an invitation to study magic at the secretive Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy.The similarities to Harry Potter are immediate and obvious. On some level these two books serve as Potter spoofs, though after a certain point they shift more towards lampooning the Narnia books. The characters are older, prone to sarcastic humor, generally ambivalent about the wacky situations they find themselves in, and not averse to getting drunk and having sex with one another whenever the opportunity strikes.But the true conflict of the books is something much more basic than magic and alternate worlds. They're about what it means to want something desperately and the disappointment that comes when you actually get it. Adults who dismissed the Potter movies may find that conflict appealing. Last October we learned that Fox is developing the Magicians as a potential TV series, with X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zach Stentz handling the adaptation. Should that project fall through, we'd hope to see another company attempt to adapt the books to film.