Top 10 Books That Deserve to Be Adapted into Movies Again

Despite repeated requests from movie lovers for studios to halt the endless remakes, they persist in making them. From the audience's point of view, these reboots rarely exceed the original, but they are typically profitable for the studios. But, don't some films truly deserve a second attempt?

Here is a compilation of 10 books that have already been adapted into films but warrant another shot at the big screen. This may be because the original adaptation strayed too far from the book, or perhaps it simply wasn’t good enough. Either way, these stories are deserving of a remake.

10. The Day of the Triffids

John Wyndham’s *The Day of the Triffids* (1951) is a post-apocalyptic tale about deadly plants called Triffids that begin to kill and devour humans. Think of it as *Little Shop of Horrors* (1986) without the musical numbers, except in Wyndham’s version, a meteor shower blinds most of humanity, leaving them vulnerable to the Triffids, which, unlike Audrey II, can move around.

Praised as a sci-fi masterpiece, *The Day of the Triffids* was made into a film (1962) and two TV adaptations (1981 and 2009), none of which truly capture the essence of the story. It also partially inspired *28 Days Later* (2002), as both begin with a protagonist waking up in a hospital to discover that civilization has crumbled. Unfortunately, the 1962 film is a loose adaptation and ends weakly with the Triffids' demise by saltwater. The first BBC series is watchable but feels outdated, while the second suffers from a poor script and excessive runtime. *The Day of the Triffids* is long overdue for a faithful and compelling adaptation.

9. Something Wicked This Way Comes

*Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1962) follows the eerie tale of a malevolent carnival that arrives in a small town, seen through the eyes of two boys, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway. Ray Bradbury’s novel blends fantasy with darkness, introducing characters like the aptly named Mr. Dark, the leader of the carnival, and the blind fortune-teller known as the Dust Witch. *Something Wicked* makes for the ideal autumn read, yet the 1983 film adaptation doesn’t quite match its Halloween potential.

Directed by Jack Clayton, produced by Disney, and with a screenplay by Bradbury himself, the 1983 film is a respectable effort at adapting the book but ultimately falls short. It fails to capture the chilling atmosphere that pervades the novel and leaves out several crucial scenes, likely due to the special effects limitations of the time. One key scene missing is where the Dust Witch searches for Jim and Will in a hot-air balloon. A modern, non-Disney version would be better suited to convey the story’s spooky essence.

8. The Dark Is Rising

It’s a travesty that Susan Cooper’s *The Dark Is Rising* (1973), one of the finest children’s fantasy novels, has yet to receive a proper adaptation. It shares some similarities with *Harry Potter* (1997), but it's darker, richer, and predates it by many years. The story follows eleven-year-old Will Stanton as he discovers he is part of a secret group called the Old Ones, embarking on a journey to defeat the Dark’s malevolent magic.

The book holds a special place in the hearts of both children and adults, yet the film adaptation, *The Seeker* (2007), was universally panned (with a dismal 14% on Rotten Tomatoes). It fails to capture the soul of the book, oversimplifying and distorting the core message. As one critic rightly pointed out, “no one who loved those books could watch this travesty and not feel betrayed.” *The Dark Is Rising* deserves a faithful movie—one that preserves the essence of the story, not a clumsy, Christianized, and *Potter*-like version.

7. Journey to the Center of the Earth

*Journey to the Center of the Earth* (1864) by Jules Verne is a science fiction classic. The title says it all, but here’s the plot: a group of daring explorers ventures down an extinct volcano, heading straight to the center of the Earth, where they uncover a mysterious underground world.

The story has inspired numerous direct-to-DVD and TV adaptations, along with two major films. The 1959 version is lighthearted and fun but definitely feels outdated. The 2008 film leans heavily on cheesy 3-D effects and misses the mark of the novel's adventurous spirit. Although Brendan Fraser shines (as he always does) as the team’s leader, the film feels more like a children's movie than a thrilling adventure for audiences of all ages. So many failed adaptations have come before—perhaps it’s time for someone to finally get it right.

6. Eragon

Originally self-published, Christopher Paolini’s *Eragon* was picked up by a publisher in 2003. Although the fantasy novel about a young boy who discovers a dragon egg was criticized for being too similar to *Star Wars* and *The Lord of the Rings*, it spent an impressive 121 weeks on *The New York Times* Children’s Books Best Seller list. In 2006, a film adaptation was released, but fans were ultimately disappointed.

From the script to the acting and character designs, the movie adaptation received criticism across the board. However, hope for a revival emerged when Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and gained the rights to books with failed adaptations, including *Eragon* and Rick Riordan’s *Percy Jackson* series. The reboot of *Percy Jackson* was green-lit due to fan demand, sparking hopes that *Eragon* could get the same treatment. Though Paolini himself supports the idea, Disney has not yet made an announcement—but fans continue to hold on to hope.

5. 30 Days of Night

Though this is a comic book rather than a traditional novel, it still qualifies for this list. *30 Days of Night* presents an exciting premise: Vampires, who are vulnerable to sunlight, find the perfect hunting ground in an Alaskan town where the sun doesn’t rise for 30 days during winter. Steve Niles initially pitched this idea as a movie, but after rejection, he turned it into a comic book. After the 2002 comic’s success, it was adapted into a movie in 2007, starring Josh Hartnett.

Ben Templesmith’s distinctive, expressionistic art style fills every page with a sense of impending doom, a feeling the film fails to replicate. Though packed with blood and jump scares, the vampires (who hiss excessively for no clear reason) just don’t feel all that terrifying. By the end, the movie transitions from a horror story into an action-packed showdown. While it has garnered a few defenders, even they can’t ignore how absurd the final battle turns out to be.

A new adaptation could keep the effective elements from the 2007 film—the blood, the isolation, and the authentically wintry setting—but ditch the over-the-top action scenes.

4. I, Robot

Isaac Asimov’s 1950 short story collection *I, Robot* had a monumental impact, yet the 2004 film adaptation has largely faded from collective memory for good reason. Asimov’s book introduced *The Three Laws of Robotics*, which significantly shaped the debate over artificial intelligence ethics.

The movie, starring Will Smith, borrowed some concepts from the novel, such as the character Dr. Susan Calvin and the Three Laws, but ultimately turned them into a spectacle-filled action film with robotic enemies. While killer robots can be intriguing, they aren’t the focus of *I, Robot*. The film leans more on Jeff Vintar’s original screenplay than on Asimov’s groundbreaking short stories, which makes it feel like a shallow attempt to cash in on the *I, Robot* title. With the success of thought-provoking sci-fi films like *Ex Machina* (2014) and *Arrival* (2016), there is clearly an audience eager for a more cerebral adaptation of *I, Robot*.

3. I Am Legend

Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel *I Am Legend* remains a cornerstone of both the horror and sci-fi genres. Yet, no film adaptation has truly captured its essence. The story follows Robert Neville, the last human survivor of a vampire plague, as he works tirelessly to find a cure and avoid being killed by vampires.

The first film adaptation, *The Last Man on Earth* (1964), starred the legendary Vincent Price. However, the attempt to combine these two icons fell short. Matheson, disappointed with the movie, used the pseudonym Logan Swanson in the credits. The film, unfortunately, struggles with a disjointed storyline, and the ending is marred by a crucial twist: Neville (or Morgan, in this version) fails to realize that he is the 'legendary monster' to the vampires.

Next came Charlton Heston in *The Omega Man* (1971), a version that bears little resemblance to the book. Instead of vampires, the plot centers on a group of mutants known as The Family. The film’s conclusion completely disregards the novel’s twist by having Neville develop a cure and administer it to survivors before sacrificing himself.

Finally, the 2007 blockbuster *I Am Legend*, starring Will Smith, takes yet another departure from the novel. Smith’s Neville also works on a cure, but in the end, he heroically takes his own life. The film concludes with a voiceover proclaiming Neville a legend for sacrificing himself for humanity, which is a stark contrast to the novel’s original conclusion. Can anyone do justice to Matheson’s dark masterpiece?

2. World War Z

Marc Forster's 2013 film *World War Z* takes the name from Max Brooks's 2006 book, but little else. The novel, made up of individual accounts that together form an oral history of the zombie war, was adapted by J. Michael Straczynski. However, Straczynski’s vision conflicted with Forster's, with the screenwriter remarking, 'Marc wanted to make a big, huge action movie that wasn’t terribly smart and had big, huge action pieces in it.' This raises the question, 'Why adapt a nuanced, intelligent book if that wasn’t the intention?'

Unable to fulfill Forster's vision for an action-packed blockbuster, Straczynski was replaced by Matthew Michael Carnahan. Carnahan scrapped the interview format, which was a defining feature of the book. The resulting film presents Brad Pitt navigating a mindless, CGI-laden zombie world. A true adaptation of Brooks's novel would have blended thrilling action with compelling storytelling, offering something fresh to the zombie genre.

1. The Dark Tower

While there are numerous Stephen King adaptations that could have made this list, *The Dark Tower* (2017) stands as the prime example of expectations falling short. King’s original *The Dark Tower* series (1982-2004) is a blend of Westerns, *The Lord of the Rings*, and Arthurian legend, often hailed as his magnum opus. Fans have long awaited an adaptation, but Nikolaj Arcel’s film is far from what they envisioned.

With a disappointing 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was a clear failure. The narrative is squeezed into a short 95-minute runtime, which is far too brief to fully develop the complex world built in the books. As a result, the movie becomes a muddled experience that doesn’t effectively convey the journey of The Last Gunslinger and his pursuit of The Man in Black. While it might feel too soon for a fresh adaptation, given the lingering aftertaste of the 2017 film, this iconic series still deserves another chance in the near future.