Literary adaptations: October 8, 2026

Here's a roundup of news and reflections on literary adaptations and crossovers.

Movies

• Filmmaker Zhang Yimou says he has spent years perfecting the screenplay for his adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel The Three-Body Problem, even gathering some 400,000 online fan comments to guide him (The Hollywood Reporter). 

• A new startup called Authors First says it will help sci-fi and fantasy writers adapt their titles for the screen according to their vision — with, of course, the help of AI (Variety).

TV

• The bestselling book series The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks, written by Katie Kirby for nine- to twelve-year-olds, will be adapted into a live-action TV show (The Hollywood Reporter).

• Stephen King's short story "Crouch End" will become a limited series for Prime Video (Reactor).

• We're getting another Bridgerton spinoff; the currently untitled limited series will focus on a younger version of Julia Quinn's matriarch Lady Violet (Variety).

• UK viewers will be able to watch PBS Masterpiece's Maigret, based on the Georges Simenon novels, on the U&Drama network and the U streaming service (Deadline).

Other

• The newly released book The Art of Wildwood provides an in-depth look into the effort of adapting the 2011 fantasy novel Wildwood (Deadline).

• The UK's largest official Harry Potter flagship store opens next month on Oxford Street, and as Christmas approaches, you can expect the holiday decorations in the neighborhood to take on a wizarding theme, too (The Hollywood Reporter).