Summer reading: 5 books being adapted for film, TV

UPI

20-06-2025

1 of 5 | Pierce Brosnan stars in a film adaptation of "The Thursday Murder Club." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
June 20 (UPI) -- We Were Liars, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Rainmaker and other books are getting film and television adaptations this summer.
The new adaptations will arrive on streaming platforms in June, July and August.
John Slattery and Pierce Brosnan are among the stars who appear in upcoming film or TV adaptations. Read on for an overview of what to expect:
'We Were Liars'
E. Lockhart's young adult suspense novel was published in 2018, followed by a prequel novel, Family of Liars, in 2022.
Prime Video's adaptation stars Emily Alyn Lind as Cadence Sinclair Eastman, a wealthy girl trying to uncover secrets after an accident that she doesn't remember. The series also stars Caitlin Fitzgerald, Shubham Mahewshwari, Esther McGregor, Joseph Zada, Mamie Gummer, Candice King, Rahul Kohli and David Morse.
Prime Video released a trailer for the series in June that shows Cadence returning to the scene of the incident to try and remember what happened to her.
We Were Liars began streaming Wednesday.
'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was penned by Jules Verne in 1869 and follows the adventures of Captain Nemo as he helms the Nautilus submarine.
AMC is delivering a series inspired by the novel, titled Nautilus. Shazad Latif stars as Nemo, a prince and East India Mercantile Company prisoner who steals the submarine and escapes captivity. His adventure sends him on a quest to find mythic treasure while outrunning his captors.
Georgia Flood, Celine Menville, Thierry Fremont, Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor also star.
Two episodes arrive on AMC and AMC+ on June 29.
'The Institute'
The Institute, written by Stephen King, was published in 2019, and will serve as inspiration for an upcoming show of the same name.
MGM+ is adapting the book, and King will also serve as an executive producer on the project. Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman) is teenager who is abducted and taken to a facility where other kidnapped children with unique abilities are living.
Ben Barnes portrays the police officer Tim Jamieson, who crosses paths with Luke. Mary-Louise Parker, Simone Miller, Fionn Laird, Hannah Galway, Julian Richings, Robert Joy and Martin Roach also star.
Two episodes arrive on MGM+ July 13.
'The Rainmaker'
John Grisham penned the 1995 novel The Rainmaker, which was previously adapted as a 1997 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon and Claire Danes.
The story will also serve as the inspiration for a new series on USA Network. Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) gets fired from Leo Drummond's (John Slattery) law firm on his first day of work. His new gig working for Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) forces Rudy to face his old boss and his girlfriend (Madison Iseman) in the courtroom.
P.J. Byrne, Dan Fogler, Wade Briggs and Robyn Cara also star in the series, which premieres Aug. 15.
'Thursday Murder Club'
Richard Osman's 2020 novel serves as the inspiration for an upcoming Netflix film starring Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone director Chris Columbus helms the movie, and he described the cast as "the finest" since that film.
Mirren portrays Elizabeth and Brosnan portrays Ron, retirees who solve cold cases as a hobby alongside Ben Kingsley's character Ibrahim and Celia Imrie's Joyce.
An actual murder," however, gives the group their first "real case."
The film also stars Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Tom Ellis, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Paul Freeman, Geoff Bell, Richard E. Grant and Ingrid Oliver and lands on the streamer Aug. 28.
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Dame Helen Mirren (L) and husband, Taylor Hackford, arrive at the Directors Guild of America Honors in New York City on December 10, 2000. The couple has been married since 1997. Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/UPI | License Photo