We round up all the books you’ll see on screen for the rest of 2022.
What’s the one guaranteed way to discuss a show or movie in advance without having to issue a spoiler warning? Easy. Fill your watchlist with adaptations.
2022 has already produced A wealth of page-to-screen titles has arrived in 2022 already – Anatomy of a Scandal, Under the Banner of Heaven, Heartstopper, and Where the Crawdads Sing to name a handful – with many still to come.
Whether you’re partial to a thrilling period piece, sprawling fantasy worlds or sci-fi time-traveling exploits, there’s bound to be something in this batch of 2022 adaptations to keep on your radar. And if you want to get ahead of the game? You’ve lots of time to work your way through the books and graphic novels listed here. Enjoy.
Feeling the Hawkins-shaped hole in your life? Paper Girls is here to uhh, plug it up? Based on the popular Image Comics series by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, this show basks in a familiar supernatural glow. It’s 1988 and four pre-teen pals get caught in the crossfire of a time war during their Halloween paper round.
Imagine a gender-flipped version of Stranger Things with a dash of Yellowjackets and you’re somewhere in the vicinity. Multiple timelines means we’re treated to a stellar young cast leading the main roles alongside their adult counterparts led by Tuca and Bertie’s Ali Wong. The series hails from Stephanie Folsom, who penned Toy Story 4 and episodes of the upcoming Lord of the Rings series.
Where can I watch?
It’s streaming now on Prime Video.
Neil Gaiman fans, it’s finally happening. The Sandman adaptation emerges after decades of development hell. How many years? Plans to adapt Gaiman’s classic DC comic series began in 1991 with various film scripts doing the rounds until Netflix scooped up the TV rights in 2019. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was attached to produce and star but dropped out due to creative differences. He passes the leading torch to Tom Sturridge who tackles the role of Dream, aka the Sandman and the King of Dreams.
A mash-up of fantasy, mythology, and horror, the first season adapts Gaiman’s first two graphic novels following Dream after he’s incarcerated and sets about escaping to restore order to his kingdom. Warner Bros. produces the series which boasts a phenomenal cast including Gwendoline Christie, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, David Thewlis and Stephen Fry.
Where can I watch?
The Sandman season one drops on Netflix on August 5.
If Brad Pitt’s antics in the trailer and on the press circuit are any indication, then Bullet Train is gonna rip. Based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka, the story unfolds entirely on a… yep, you guessed it, bullet train.
Lifelong assassin Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is coerced by his handler (Sandra Bullock) to collect a briefcase despite his desire to quit the lifestyle. His journey turns into a frenzy once he learns many of his fellow passengers are hitmen out for the same.
Atomic Blonde director Chad Leitch helms this kinetic actioner which adopts a comedic approach to the material, thanks to Fear Street scribe Zak Olkewicz. Joining Pitt for this mad dash across Japan are Hiroyuki Sanada, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, and Bad Bunny.
Where can I watch?
Bullet Train opens in UK theaters on August 3 and in US theaters on August 5.
Noah Baumbach explores the vagaries of modern life in his first movie not based on an original story. Baumbach writes and directs this adaptation of Don DeLillo’s 1985 novel White Noise, a postmodern black comedy centring on Jack Gladney (frequent collaborator, Adam Driver) a liberal arts college professor who teaches Hitler Studies.
Living with his fourth wife Babette (Greta Gerwig) and their sizable brood, his life takes a turn when an airborne toxic event threatens his small town. Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy, Sam Nivola, May Nivola, André L. Benjamin and Lars Edinger flesh out the supporting cast for this Oscar-bait Netflix Original.
Where can I watch?
White Noise debuts at the Venice Film Festival on August 31 with a Netflix release announcement expected shortly after.
Originally scheduled for release in 2021, 30 Days Of Night director David Slade’s adaptation of the Norman Partridge novel arrives this fall. The film stars Twilight royalty Elizabeth Reaser, The Black Phone’s Jeremy Davies, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Luke Kirby.
The story unfolds in a small Midwestern town where every year on Halloween, a creature known as Sawtooth Jack emerges from the cornfields and lurches towards the local church. Here, locals wait to take on the supernatural spectre in an annual harvest ritual. For such a dynamite premise, this horror fantasy remains buzz-free which might be down to its repeated release shuffles due to the COVID-19 pandemic? In any case, we’ll be there for the harvest…
Where can I watch?
Dark Harvest arrives in theaters on September 9.
Once a failed movie, Richelle Mead’s best-selling YA book series returns for another adaptation, but this time Vampire Academy is bound for a ten-episode run on Peacock.
