By William Lobley | Posted 20 Feb 2020

Wondering what book are becoming movies in 2020? We’ve got the answers for you.

Twenty-twenty, the year of perfect vision, is upon us, promising 12 months of fresh cinematic events and incredible stories. We’re here to drop a bombshell and tell you that many of these stories are, in fact, already with us. What’s more, these spoiler-filled volumes are readily available - in exchange for cash - to read right now.

Some of 2019’s most anticipated and talked of flicks found their debut in manuscripts rather than screenplays - Little Women, IT Chapter 2, The Irishman, Doctor Sleep, and yes, even Cats, were captured in ink long before being scooped up for adaptation. 2020’s release schedule is bristling with promising adaptations, taking some of the most beloved, challenging and gripping novels of the last one-hundred-plus years, and bringing them to life.

Whether you’re one of the “book-before-film” crowd or just impatient for the movie, below you'll find a list of some of the tales that’ll be gracing our screens in the coming year. If you're on the hunt for a book-to-film or comic-to-film adaptation from years already past, we've got that covered too.

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The Books Behind Upcoming Movies View Gallery 10 photos 1 of 10 Dune by Frank Herbert, £7 Dune charts the story of Paul Atreides as he and his family take up the stewardship of Arrakis. Though it's a desolate desert, the planet is the only location where a life extending, performance enhancing drug is found. This drug, melange, allows the user to comprehend the multidimensional thinking required to navigate space and, therefore, makes Arrakis a planet worth protecting – and seizing. Dune is a true and epic classic of the science-fiction genre and was the winner of the first ever Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.





Adaptation Release Date: 18th December 2020

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 2 of 10 The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, £6.79 This thriller from A. J. Finn is laced with a film-noir sensibility and follows the reclusive and heavy-drinking Anna Fox who, when she's not watching films, spies on her neighbours from her window. One day, Anna sees something life shattering – she thinks. Though it treads some familiar ground, The Woman in the Window is an addictive page-turner littered with twists and misdirection.





Adaptation Release Date: 15th May 2020

Director: Joe Wright

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 3 of 10 Artemis Fowl (Seven Books) by Eoin Colfer, £16 The Artemis Fowl series follows the exploits of Artemis Fowl II, a child-genius and criminal mastermind, who, with his faithful guardian Butler forever at his side, uncovers a technologically advanced fairy realm. Initially an exploitative force, Artemis Fowl comes to support the Fairy People against criminal dwarves, maniacal pixies and ceaseless threats to the realms anonymity. The series is a tale which transcends children's literature and will enchant whimsical readers young and old.





Adaptation Release Date: 29th May 2020

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Ferdia Shaw, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Hong Chau





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 4 of 10 Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, £7.99 In Agatha Christie's quintessential crime novel, moustachioed super-sleuth Hercule Poirot finds his holiday in Cairo disturbed by a socialite's plea for assistance. Though the initial plea is kindly rejected, Poirot finds his boat trip on the Nile scuppered by claims that a murderer is aboard – such an event he cannot ignore. Secrets, shocks and twists abound as Poirot investigates his way through a dramatic and thrilling stream of revelations.





Adaptation Release Date: 9th October 2020

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 5 of 10 The Invisible Man by H.G Wells, £6.99 Griffin has made a breakthrough – he has discovered how to make himself invisible. Rather than share the secrets of his art and utilise his new-found powers for good, Griffin unleashes himself into a world of madness and violence. Within the pages of this science-fiction classic, H.G. Wells created a timeless and iconic legend of horror fiction - The Invisible Man.





Adaptation Release Date: 28th February 2020

Director: Leigh Whannell

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Oliver Jackson-Cohen





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 6 of 10 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, £5.24 The young Mary Lennox has returned to England after the death of her parents in India. Moving in with her uncle in Yorkshire proves quite the culture shock, and Mary's behaviour is less than polite. When her uncle takes a trip and provides his niece with the opportunity to explore, things start to change. A locked garden is discovered, and sorrowful crying can be heard from the mansion. This children's tale is one of kindness, truth and more than a little curiosity.





Adaptation Release Date: 17th April 2020

Director: Marc Munden

Starring: Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth, Julie Walters





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 7 of 10 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, £4.85 First published in 1898, Henry James' classic horror novella will leave readers intrigued, confused, and, most importantly, deeply unsettled. The tale tells of a governess who finds employment caring for two children, her disinterested employer's niece and nephew, in a grand country house where distant figures stroll the grounds and each child holds a terrible secret. The Turn of the Screw is a short story that'll stick with the reader long after its end.





Adaptation Title: The Turning

Release Date: 24th January 2020

Director: Floria Sigismondi

Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince





Read Empire's review of The Turning.





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 8 of 10 The Call of The Wild by Jack London, £5.56 The Call of The Wild has as its main character Buck, a dog that's kidnapped from a ranch and taken to Alaska. In the midst of the Klondike Gold Rush, he's mistreated and forced into working on a sled. The harsh treatment suffered by Buck from man, nature and his fellow canines, unlocks his latent survival instincts and he begins to seek dominance. Don't let the dog fool you, this an exploration of nature, nurture, greed and violence.





Adaptation Release Date: 21st February 2020

Director: Chris Sanders

Starring: Karen Gillan, Harrison Ford, Jean Louisa Kelly



Read Empire's review of The Call Of The Wild.



Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 9 of 10 Emma by Jane Austen, £3.49 In her misguided vanity, Emma Woodhouse interferes in the life of all those around her, believing herself to be perfectly and rightfully able to arrange their affairs. This proves to be a misstep, and is presented by Jane Austen in comedic, romantic and mysterious splendour.





Adaptation Release Date: 14th February 2020

Director: Autumn de Wilde

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy, Josh O'Connor, Mia Goth





Read Empire's review of Emma.



Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 10 photos 10 of 10 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Charles Dickens' eighth novel, The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account), is a masterpiece of the coming-of-age story. The novel follows Copperfield from youth to middle age, disclosing his various comedic adventures and recording his numerous eccentric friends loved and lost. An expansive and seminal tale.





Adaptation Title: The Personal History of David Copperfield

Release Date: 24th January

Director: Armando Iannucci

Starring: Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Darren Boyd, Morfydd Clark





Read Empire's review of The Personal History of David Copperfield.





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The Unconfirmed 2020 List

The Unconfirmed 2020 Titles View Gallery 4 photos 1 of 4 The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock, £9.99 The Devil All The Time take place in the American Midwest during the years following the Second World War, and tracks three distinctly different, and frankly unusual, characters - a married serial-killing couple who haunt highways, a war veteran who prays for his dying wife and a dishonest preacher fleeing from justice. This award-winning novel is a visceral and moving read like no other.





Adaptation Release Date: 2020

Director: Antonio Campos

Starring: Eliza Scanlen, Bill Skarsgård, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 4 photos 2 of 4 The Stand by Stephen King, £6.59 Stephen King's The Stand is an epic post-apocalyptic horror fantasy novel takes place in the wake of a deadly influenza. With only one percent of Earth's population surviving, allegiances are forged or forced as all strive to rebuild civilisation for themselves, or for God. King's yarn is biblical, in every sense of the word.





Adaptation Miniseries Release Date: 2020

Director: Josh Boone

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, James Marsden, Amber Hears, Whoopi Goldberg





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 4 photos 3 of 4 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, £5.75 When the anonymous narrator of du Maurier's Rebecca agrees to marry the widowed Maxim de Winter, she is overwhelmed by her fortune. A dashing husband, a jump of several social classes and a country house as residency, things seem too good to be true. Little does she know of the malevolent power the memory of a deceased wife can hold.





Adaptation Release Date: 2020

Director: Ben Wheatley

Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas





Amazon.co.uk

shop View Gallery 4 photos 4 of 4 Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, £17.56 In a world where everyone can hear your thoughts, what happens when you find a thing, a person, of complete silence? The Chaos Walking Trilogy is an unpredictable dystopian series based in a world when men, and only men, have survived the Germ. The trilogy includes the novels The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men.





Adaption Title: Chaos Walking

Release Date: 2020 (now expected 2021)

Director: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Holland, Daisey Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen





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READ MORE: Upcoming DVD And Blu-ray Releases

READ MORE: Books Which Inspired Film Adaptations

READ MORE: Graphic Novels Which Inspired Screen Adaptations

READ MORE: Dune – Everything You Need To Know About Denis Villeneuve's Epic Sci-Fi