Literary adaptations: August 26, 2026

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

• Author Alex North said he couldn't speak upon learning that Robert De Niro was starring in the film adaptation of his novel The Whisper Man, which premiered on Monday (People).

• John August will adapt his graphic novel Wolf's Belly, a retelling of the classic fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood,” for the screen (Deadline).

• Kit Harington, of Game of Thrones fame, will take over the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter TV series; Harington previously voiced Lockhart in last year's Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions (Deadline).

• Actor Bob Odenkirk, of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, will narrate the audiobook version of Hollywood power figure Ari Emanuel's memoir; Roll the Calls comes out September 22 (People).

• Daniel Diemer and Shaheen Jafargholi have joined the cast of Heated Rivalry for season two, playing — notably — the members of the main couple in the third book of Rachel Reid's Game Changers series (Variety).

• The movie Donnie Darko is getting a sequel — in book form; The Philosophy of Time Travel, from filmmaker Richard Kelly and Range Literary Publishing, comes out December 15, aligning with the film's twenty-fifth anniversary (Variety).

• Speaking of beloved movies turning twenty-five this year — Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy, confirmed he'll appear at this winter's CCXP26 fan event in São Paulo, Brazil; he'll join Elijah Wood, who played Frodo (The Hollywood Reporter).

• Writer and executive producer Bekah Brunstetter, the writer and executive producer for the Peacock series The Five Star Weekend, explains her process for making key changes from the Elin Hilderbrand novel, particularly as it expands beyond the source material in future seasons (The Hollywood Reporter).