Listen before you watch: Here are 2025's most anticipated adaptations

Small Things Like These hit theaters on November 1, 2024

In 1985 in a small Irish town, Bill Furlong is trying to get through his daily coal deliveries during the busy holiday season. During one delivery at a convent, he discovers something that shakes him. The Irish narrator Aidan Kelly beautifully captures Bill’s resilience and moral center. In the buzzy upcoming adaptation of this quiet, resonant novella, recent Oscar winner Cillian Murphy stars as Bill.

Paddington in Peru hit theaters on November 8, 2024

Ben Whishaw is back as everyone's favorite bear in this third installment in the critically acclaimed Paddington film series. Paddington in Peru sees Paddington visit his Aunt Lucy in Peru. Coming along with him for his journey through the Amazon rainforest and the Peruvian mountains is Paddington's adopted family, the Browns. The Paddington films are based on the beloved children's books by Michael Bond.

Say Nothing Say Nothing premiered on Hulu on November 14, 2024

True crime and history fans alike will want to tune into this adaptation on Hulu. In December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of 10, was dragged out of her home in Northern Ireland with her children clutching at her legs. Her family would never lay eyes on her again—until, that is, her bones washed up on a beach in 2003. Patrick Radden Keefe weaves the story of McConville’s disappearance with the larger context of the bitter conflicts that plagued Ireland throughout the latter half of the 20th century.

Season 7 of Outlander continues on Starz on November 22, 2024

Diana Gabaldon has confirmed that there will be changes between her Outlander book series and the television show adaptation in anticipation of the final season next year. You can listen to the book that matches up with the plot of upcoming episodes to get caught up with the changes. Davina Porter returns to narrate as Claire Fraser finds herself in the thick of the American Revolution in 1778. Though she’s remarried after Jamie’s death, Jamie suddenly reappears and a new adventure begins.

Wicked: Part 1 hits theaters on November 22, 2024

Before the world-famous musical hits movie screens, you can listen to the story that started it all. Inspired by the plot of The Wizard of Oz, Gregory Maguire reframes the story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. In his telling, Elphaba wasn’t evil but simply misunderstood. With engaging narration by John McDonough, you can listen to Elphaba’s perspective when she meets Glinda for the first time, falls for Fiyero, and discovers the truth about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The movie premiering in late November will be the first of two parts; the second part is expected to arrive in 2025.

One Hundred Years of Solitude premieres on Netflix on December 11, 2024

Márquez’s literary masterpiece is many things at once: the story of a family over generations, a major influence on the magical realism genre, and a deeply engaging listen. Narrated by Ben Onwukwe, you’ll get immersed in the Buendía family and their life in Macondo. The television adaptation will respect Gabriel García Márquez’s wishes that the story be told in Spanish and reflect the generation-spanning largesse of his literary vision.

Nickel Boys hits theaters on January 3, 2025

Elwood Curtis has big plans for himself. Even when he’s sent to the reform school The Nickel Academy, he tries to stick to his idealistic principles. The school is an abusive nightmare, and his friend Turner provides an aggressively cynical viewpoint. When the two boys attempt to escape, the consequences become dire. JD Jackson brilliantly narrates this engrossing novel, which is based on a real reformatory school in Florida.

Watson premieres on AppleTV+ on January 26, 2025

Watson certainly isn't the first adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, but it is a fresh take on the beloved stories. The American television series, created by Craig Sweeny, is set one year after the death of Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty. Watson (Morris Chestnut) now works at a clinic treating rare diseases, but it turns out Moriarty isn't done with him just yet.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep premieres on Netflix on February 11, 2025

Netflix is continuing to expand its Witcher universe adaptations with an animated film based on “A Little Sacrifice” from the Sword of Destiny story collection. You can listen to Peter Kenny’s narration of the story that inspired the movie and also catch up on the rest of Geralt of Rivia’s many adventures with monsters, magic, and the unknown.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy hits theaters on February 14, 2025

With delightfully humorous narration by Samantha Bond, we get to revisit Bridget Jones as a mother. She's still figuring it out day by day. Finding herself single again, Bridget has to puzzle through important questions like how to start a new relationship, whether online dating is worth it, and who she is as a mother. Renée Zellweger will reprise her iconic role in the upcoming film.

Mickey 17 hits theaters on April 18, 2025

Katharine Chin and John Pirhalla narrate the story of Mickey, a grunt worker looking for a way out of debt who’s sent on a space expedition that assigns him a special role: He goes on missions that are essentially guaranteed to end in his death. But then he's revived and sent on another mission. After dying and waking up six times, Mickey7 can't be found. The film adaptation is directed by Academy Award winner Bong Joon-Ho, who has gained international acclaim for his sci-fi and speculative films about capitalism and class.

How to Train Your Dragon hits theaters on June 13, 2025

Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon has already been adapted into multiple animated movies. Now we're getting a live-action adaptation. Mason Thames stars as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, an awkward misfit amongst the tough dragon fighters on the Norse island of Berk. But when Hiccup meets a dragon who is just as much of an outsider as he is, nothing will ever be the same. Gerard Butler, who plays Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, in the animated films, reprises his role for the 2025 remake. Dean DeBlois, who directed all three of the animated films, is also returning for this one.

The Bride! hits theaters on September 26, 2025

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s upcoming film The Bride! is an adaptation of the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein, originally based on Mary Shelley’s gothic horror staple. In this Audible exclusive edition narrated by Dan Stevens, you can listen to Victor Frankenstein’s attempt to subvert death. As the monster gets out of control, Victor faces up to the horror of his creation.

The Running Man hits theaters on November 21, 2025

We just can't get enough Stephen King adaptations, and thankfully The Running Man won't be the only one we get this year. But it is one of the ones we're most thrilled to see! This is a dystopian sci-fi story that is set, appropriately enough, in 2025. Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Shaun of the Dead) is the director and a writer on the project. The movie stars Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Katy O'Brian, Michael Cera, and Emilia Jones.

Klara and the Sun hits theaters in 2025

Klara looks out the shop window every day and hopes someone will take her. She’s an Artificial Friend, and soon she’s picked up by a sick child named Josie. As much as Klara tries to care for Josie, humans move through the world differently. Sura Siu narrates Klara’s matter-of-fact confusion with life itself. Taika Waititi directs the adaptation with Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega as Klara.

Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty premieres on Amazon Prime Video in summer 2025

The final book of The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy is when Belly has to make a choice between the two boys she loves the most. After two years with Jeremiah, she’s ready to commit to forever. However, Jeremiah’s older brother Conrad, Belly’s first love, isn’t ready to let her go. You can get hyped for the final season by listening to the narration of Lola Tung and Christopher Briney, who play Belly and Conrad on the television show.

Washington Black is expected to premiere in 2025

A young boy, Washington Black, is desperate to escape the sugar plantation in Barbados. His prayers are answered in the form of Christopher ‘Titch’ Wilde, an explorer who takes Washington with him on his travels. Dion Graham narrates Washington’s breathless excitement and fear throughout his journey. Tom Ellis and Sterling K. Brown will star in the television adaptation.

The Count of Monte Cristo is expected to premiere in 2025

Though the eight-episode miniseries is being released in late 2024 in France, this new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's classic novel will reach international audiences in 2025. It's a powerful epic tale of a French sailor wrongfully imprisoned for treason off the coast of Marseilles who, after learning about a hidden treasure on the Isle of Monte Cristo and being released, reinvents himself under a false identity to find the treasure and seek revenge on those who wronged him. The new French series stars actor Sam Claflin (Daisy Jones and the Six) as the lead and film legend Jeremy Irons as Abbé Faria. The audiobook, narrated by actor Bill Homewood, is just as compelling today as the serialized story was for readers in the 1840s.

It: Welcome to Derry is expected to premiere in 2025

Stephen King’s It is one of the creepiest, most well-known horror novels of all time, inspiring multiple movies and TV series since its publication in 1986. Next year, we'll get a fresh take on the classic story with a prequel series on HBO called It: Welcome to Derry. Andy Muschietti, director of the 2017 It film adaptation, is leading the project alongside his sister, Barbara Muschietti, and actor/screenwriter Jason Fuchs. Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise in what's sure to be a nightmare-inducing show. Before it hits screens, return to the original story as narrated by Steven Weber.

Wildwood is expected to release in 2025

We've been eagerly awaiting this one for ages, and it looks like it's finally coming out in 2025. Wildwood is a stop-motion animated film from Laika Studios based on the novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. After Prue McKeel's baby brother Mac is mysteriously kidnapped by crows, Prue and her best friend Curtis journey into a mysterious, magical forest in search of him.

Long Bright River is expected to premiere in 2025

Liz Moore's gritty mystery/thriller Long Bright River tells the story of Mickey, a police officer in a neighborhood of Philadelphia heavily hit by the opioid crisis. When Mickey's sister, who struggles with addiction, goes missing around the same time as a string of unsolved murders, Mickey becomes obsessed with cracking the case in the hopes of finding her sister. Now the book is set to become a limited series on Peacock starring Amanda Seyfried as Mickey. Although we don't have an official release date yet, filming wrapped in spring of 2024. Listen to the twisty noir audiobook narrated by Allyson Ryan for a sneak peek at the series.

The second season of Percy Jackson is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2025

Season 2 of Disney's Percy Jackson adaptation is based on the second book in Rick Riordan's series, The Sea of Monsters. Young demigod Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) returns to Camp Half-Blood a year later to find its borders dissolving, mythical beasts threatening to attack, and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) has gone missing. Now, in order to protect Camp Half-Blood and his friends, Percy must take a treacherous journey to the Sea of Monsters. Leah Sava Jeffries also stars as Annabeth Chase, and joining the cast for the second season is Daniel Diemer as Tyson, Percy's cyclops half-brother.

XO, Kitty is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2025

Yes, we've got another Jenny Han adaptation coming this year. XO Kitty is a spin-off series based on a character from Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before. The series follows Lara Jean Song Covey's little sister, Kitty Song Covey. Kitty is finding love and friendship at her boarding school in Seoul, South Korea, and she's meeting a few new people in season 2. Audrey Huynh will play Stella, Sasha Bhasin will play Praveena, and Joshua Lee will play Jin. Of course, our faves are returning as well. You can expect to see the return of Minyeong Choi (Dae), Gia Kim (Yuri), Sang Heon Lee (Min Ho), Anthony Keyvan (Q), Peter Thurnwald (Alex), and Regan Aliyah (Juliana).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is expected to premiere in 2025.

We may still be anxiously awaiting the release of the final books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, but we've got more fantastical dramas from the mind of George R.R. Martin to keep us entertained in the meantime. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, coming in late 2025 to HBO, will be the third TV series set in the world of Game of Thrones. It's a six-episode prequel that follows a hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (played by Peter Claffey) and a young Prince Aegon Targaryen, nicknamed Egg (played by Dexter Sol Ansell). You can preview the world of Duncan and Egg in the audiobook novella series narrated by Harry Lloyd.

The forthcoming Children of Blood and Bone adaptation will be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood

Zélie remembers a recent past when the world was still full of magic. When the king of Orïsha ordered the execution of all magic doers, Zélie lost her mother and had to hide her own magic. Bahni Turpin narrates Zélie’s adventures when she finds she has a chance to restore magic to the land. She has to avoid the royals who wish to crush her while journeying through the treacherous landscape of Orïsha.

The forthcoming Yellowface adaptation will be directed by Karyn Kusama for television

After watching her sometimes-friend, mostly-enemy Athena Liu die in front of her, June Hayward chooses to pass Athena’s manuscript off as her own. After reworking the book, she rebrands herself as Juniper Song to sell the book about Chinese soldiers during World War I for a six-figure publishing deal. Helen Laser expertly embodies June’s self-aggrandizement in this satire of the publishing industry. When June is at the top of her success, a ghostly social media account of Athena Liu starts to haunt her, and her life spirals out of control.