5 Classic Books Getting Fresh On-Screen Adaptations In 2026

Hollywood loves an adaptation, and it's not hard to understand why. All the hard work of developing a story is basically already done, and there's often a built-in audience. Why take a risk on an unknown quantity when you can just plug in the old Shakespeare formula?

That's why a classic work of literature is even more appealing to movie and TV producers. A modern bestseller could prove to be a flash in the pan, but a classic guarantees staying power. Its audience is not just preexisting; it spans multiple generations.

That also means a classic novel is more likely to have already been adapted, leaving a treasure trove of what to do and what not to do behind for prospective remakers. It's truly a lazy producer's dream come true. Of course, looking at the slate of film and TV adaptations of classic novels scheduled for 2026, you'd be hard-pressed to call any of them lazy.

Has there ever been a more perfect pair of Austen sisters than Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet? Maybe not, but if Focus Features and Working Title Films have anything to say about it, there might be. The cast of the British studios' upcoming adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility," headed by Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood and Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood, could give Ang Lee's 1995 classic a run for its money. Edgar-Jones is a literary adaptation queen, previously starring in "Where the Crawdads Sing" and TV's "Normal People," while Creed-Miles has an Austen family pedigree: Her mother, British film icon Samantha Morton, played Harriet Smith in a 1996 ITV adaptation of "Emma."

Possibly more exciting, however, are the relative newcomers behind the scenes. Director Georgia Oakley only has one other feature film under her belt, 2022's "Blue Jean," which garnered much acclaim at the Venice Film Festival and British Independent Film Awards, but wasn't widely seen in the U.S. Meanwhile, Diana Reid is the author of the bestselling novels "Love & Virtue" and "Seeing Other People," but she'd never written a screenplay before adapting "Sense and Sensibility." Such high-profile projects are usually only given to proven veterans, so it'll be interesting to see what they've done with the material when it hits theaters on October 16.

Netflix's 2026 limited series adaptation isn't your mother's "East of Eden," though it may be your grandmother's. Any one of you may be more familiar with the 1955 film adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel, which was published just three years earlier, than the book itself, which means you only got a small part of the story. According to the teaser trailer released in May 2026, the Netflix series will cover much more of the plot, depicting Cathy Ames's life from childhood through her marriage to Adam Trask, the birth of their twin sons, and her departure from the family for more sordid pastures.

One part that remains the same, however, is the last name at the helm. The 1955 James Dean vehicle was directed by Elia Kazan, legendary director of "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront," whose granddaughter, Zoe, serves as writer and executive producer of the series starring Florence Pugh, who is basically the James Dean of the 2020s. Netflix hasn't yet announced a release date for "East of Eden," but the muted California landscapes and rich period costumes seen in the trailer promise fall's coziest bummer-watch.

When you think about it, there's nothing all that old-fashioned about "Little House on the Prairie." At its core, Laura Ingalls Wilder's fictionalized account of her family's ventures westward in pioneer days is a story of migration in search of a better life, which is still playing out today all over the world. Still, when it was announced that Netflix was releasing a series adaptation in 2026, headlines largely concerned fans who were apprehensive about the network injecting an unwanted dose of modernism into the classic series of books.

If anything, however, the Netflix adaptation more closely follows Ingalls Wilder's vision than the 1974 series did, at least according to showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine. It does include several new Osage Nation characters, as the tribe whose land the Ingalls settled on were mostly left out of the family's narrative, but many feel this is a long-needed correction. Whatever side viewers land on, the buzz seems to be heavily in Netflix's favor. Ahead of the show's July 9 release, the network had already renewed it for a second season.

If your taste in classics leans more toward antiques, you've likely been following updates about Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" with bated breath. You definitely wouldn't be alone: Tickets for the nearly three-hour epic went on sale all the way back in July 2025, adding $1.5 million to the box office totals over the course of just 24 hours a full year before its release date. It'll certainly be a tiny fraction of the opening weekend gross, which is expected to be in the $80-100 million range.

It's easy to see why. Aside from Nolan's acclaimed direction, "The Odyssey" boasts a star-studded cast led by Matt Damon as Homer's eponymous hero and rounded out by the likes of Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal. Throw in Travis Scott as a rapping bard, and "The Odyssey" is sure to be quite the, um, journey. It has a release date of July 17, but you may prefer to read it before you watch the adaptation if you want to brush up on your Trojan.

The relationship between Jane Austen's most famous book couple may be full of red flags, but readers and viewers alike can't stop swooning over "Pride and Prejudice." As screenwriter of Netflix's upcoming adaptation Dolly Alderton pointed out, every generation seems to demand its own Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Alderton definitely knows about love, at least according to her bestselling memoir, "Everything I Know About Love," and its TV adaptation, which she also wrote. Along with director Euros Lyn, who brought the heartthrobs of "Heartstoppers" to life for the network, Liz and Fitz couldn't be in better hands.

And just who will fill those hands? None other than "The Crown" star Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden of "Slow Horses," at least metaphorically. With Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell as the heads of the Bennet household, this cast has almost as much British royalty as Buckingham Palace. Although Netflix expects to drop "Pride and Prejudice" in late 2026, there's no firm release date yet, but like Alderton said, those with Fitzwilliam fever have plenty of material to tide them over until then. Lake scene, anyone?