Books I’d Love to See on the Big Screen

I’d like to start this out by saying that I am not a book purist who despises any movie adaptation in the name of “the book was better!” I’m not someone who points out every difference in the movie theater, or pouts when they don’t include every single detail from the original text. Are there bad adaptations? Well of course there are! But I find these adaptations fail because of film or story elements; not because they don’t match the books word for word.

Books and movies tell stories in drastically different ways, and a word-for-word re-shoot of the book would fail from a movie-making point of view, just as those Disney novels retelling the movie are boring and offer nothing new. If you have any further interest in this topic, this video from PBS shows the pros and cons of both mediums as well as some interesting points.

All this to say, books will always hold a special place in my heart, but I still have a lot of respect for movie makers and the work they do to adapt books. When I hear a book I like is getting a movie, I am excited and optimistic! But there are a few books I’m shocked Hollywood has not scooped up yet, and those are the books I’m going to be discussing today.

The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

So after everything I just said about giving movie adaptations some slack, the thing about these books is that… well, the first one already has a movie adaptation. However, this movie is… missing the point, to say the least. At best, it’s disappointing, and at worst, it’s boring. Plus, they only adapted the first one! This trilogy as a whole is immersive and ever-growing, playing with a lot of literary tropes and raising the stakes in every chapter. I think it needs another chance, and a better adaptation for the whole series. (However, please do get Paul Bettany back to play Dustfinger: he was the best part of the movie.)

The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan

This is the series that really got me into fantasy, following an orphan boy on the road to becoming a ranger, and all the adventures that follow. In my eyes, it seems a no-brainer to make this one into a movie. It’s Medieval fantasy, but it doesn’t have any magic or dragons, making effects much easier. It’s full of action and small character moments: things I feel would adapt really well to a movie screen!  There have been rumors floating around for years about its movie adaptation, so hopefully something substantial will be coming out soon. Because I really, really want more Halt in any way, shape, or form.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Johnathan Auxier

I know I talked about this one in my last post, but in case you couldn’t tell, I just love it a lot. This one would be an amazing kids movie!! I see it following in the same style as The BFG or Pan, with the whimsical CGI and larger-than-life feel. That, mixed with the light-hearted, adventurous tone of The Princess Bride would make this the perfect movie. Plus, I think it would bring a lot of well-deserved attention to this very underrated book.

Any Brandon Sanderson Book

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this on here yet, but let the records show that I love Brandon Sanderson’s books with all my heart. He is a master of world-building and magic systems, and if you like fantasy and have not read his books, you are doing yourself a disservice. He is responsible for the Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive, Elantris, and Warbreaker, among others. A lot of his books are also interconnected in one universe called The Cosmere: think MCU, but for books. And there has been talk of turning these books into a Cinematic Universe, but nothing substantial yet. I really hope they do, because that would make me the happiest person on earth. I do have really specific wishes for a few of these adaptations, however, so bear with me while I nerd out.

I think Mistborn and Elantris would both make stunning animated movies. And I know if they go with the cinematic universe idea, this probably won’t happen, but I really think animation would bring these adaptations to a whole new level. The art styling you could do with all the fantasy elements in these books would be awesome! Plus animation is not taken very seriously in America, and I feel like an epic fantasy series would really change that!

The Stormlight Archive, however, would really be cool in live-action. It would take a lot of special effects, as this is a magic heavy series, but with the right mix of creativity and budget, I really think it could work. Very action heavy, large scope, fantastical creatures… This series could be the next Lord of the Rings if brought to the big screen!

And that’s really all I can think of! Like I mentioned already, I really don’t mind most movie adaptations: In fact, I really love most of them! However, that doesn’t mean you can do no wrong, Hollywood. So if you decide to adapt anything on this list, do them right, and I’ll be the first one in line to buy tickets!

Until next time, Namárië!