Thanks to the pandemic continuing on into 2021, literary fans have a lot of time to catch up on bestsellers they might have missed. Here are some books you might want to read before you find them on the big screen, or your favourite streaming services.
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STREAMING: February 1 on Netflix
STARRING: Katherine Heigl, Sarah Chalke & Brie Larson
Perfect for your “Galentines” zoom date, snuggle up (virtually) with your BFF for an on-screen friendship 30 years in the making. “Firefly Lane” sees Tully and Kate meeting as teenagers in the '70s through the moments and battles that form their friendship. Based on the bestseller that switches between the girls’ childhood, young adulthood and present day lives, “Firefly Lane” is a binge-worthy feel-good film.
2 of 12
STREAMING: February 12th on Netflix
STARRING: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, John Corbett
Get the tissue box out because you’re about to witness the final instalment in Jenny Han’s beloved YA trilogy. And the final time Noah Centineo will play Peter Kavinsky. The third book and Netflix film will take a look at Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship as it enters uncharted territory: college admissions. So get ready to send your favourite characters off to school and see the resolution of all of Lara Jean’s love triangles.
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STREAMING: February 26 on Amazon Prime Video
STARRING: Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Michael B. Jordan
People’s Sexiest Man Alive playing Navy SEAL John Clark – need we say more? Micheal B. Jordan stars in the Tom Clancy bestseller, following in the footsteps of John Krasinski, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, Harrison Ford and more. In the film, Clark’s wife is killed by a drug lord, and in his search for revenge, he of course becomes embroiled in a larger conspiracy.
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STREAMING: March 12 on Apple TV+
STARRING: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Forrest Goodluck and Bill Skarsgård
Tom Holland is getting lots of praise for portraying a veteran struggling with addiction who turns to crime to pay for his habit. The film, based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, sees Holland re-teaming with his “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo.
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STREAMING: currently set for a June 11 release, no word on whether it will get an earlier streaming date
STARRING: Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo, Elizabeth Debicki, Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie and James Corden
The sequel to the endearing film “Peter Rabbit”, based on the beloved Beatrix Potter children books, is likely to be as entertaining for kids as it is for adults.
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STREAMING: May 14
STARRING: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Maluma, Sarah Silverman
If you’re thinking, “I never thought I’d see the day when Jennifer Lopez fake marries Owen Wilson in a romantic comedy” well, May 14, 2021 is that day. Based on the graphic novel by Bobby Crosby, Lopez plays music superstar Kat Valdez, who is supposed to marry another superstar Bastian (Maluma). Of course, their massive, public wedding gets derailed when Kat finds out she’s being cheated on and chooses to marry a stranger from the audience instead. Quick zoom on Wilson’s face will likely ensue and tons of comedic mayhem.
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STREAMING: May 28th
STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dylan O’Brien, Rupert Friend, Jason Mantzoukas
Based on the novel “The Reincarnationist Papers” by D. Eric Maikranz, Mark Wahlberg is headlining this shoot-em-up film as a troubled man who discovers his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives. Rescued by a group who call themselves “infinites,” they teach him how to unlock the memories of his past lives in hopes he can thwart a plan to devastate humanity.
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STREAMING: May 28th
STARRING: Emma Stone, Emma Thomspon, Mark Strong
Now, if Mark Walhberg shooting things isn’t your cup of tea, maybe a live action remake of the iconic villain from “101 Dalmations” is. Emma Stone steps into the role that etched Glenn Close into our nightmares, starring as the black and white haired Cruella De Vil, based on the character’s origin story by Dodie Smith.
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STREAMING: August 13
STARRING: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Jacob Elordi and Finn Wittrock
Based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel, “Deep Water” is bringing the era of the erotic thriller to the big (or in a pandemic-world, small) screen. Affleck and de Armas star as Melina and Vic Van Allen who are an unhappily married couple. Affairs ensue and when one of Melinda’s lovers is found dead, Vic is assumed the killer.
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STREAMING: October 15
STARRING: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jodie Cormer, Adam Driver
If an erotic thriller isn’t enough Affleck to get you through the year, Ben is teaming up with his BFF, Matt Damon and the pair’s favourite director, Ridley Scott for the film adaptation of Eric Jager’s book “The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France”. The film actually seems Matt Damon and Adam Driver face off after Damon’s character accuses Driver’s of raping his wife, but Ben is there as what can only be assumed as a totally believable King Charles VI.
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STREAMING: October 21
STARRING: Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgärd, Zendaya, and Oscar Isaac
One of 2021’s most anticipated films, Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel is coming to the big (or small) screen in a big way. A distant planet in the far future is the setting for what is sure to be a spectacle as Paul Atreides leads nomadic tribes in a battle to control the desert planet Arrakis. The film is also a reboot of the 1984 version directed by David Lynch.
Warner Bros.
12 of 12
STREAMING: December 22
STARRING: Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning
The Fanning sisters helm the adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s 2015 New York Times bestselling World War II novel. The first time the pair has ever acted together, the sisters will play, you guessed it, sisters Isabelle and Vianne who struggle to survive under the Nazi regime. Hannah’s novel was inspired by the women of the French Resistance who hid Jewish children and aided downed airmen in evading capture by the Nazis.