9 Popular Books That Are Set to Get the Hollywood Treatment: From Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' to Edward Ashton's 'Mickey7' and More

Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner's best-selling memoir, explores the life of the Japanese Breakfast frontwoman's life as she struggles with grief following the death of her mother, Chongmi.

Reports in 2023 said Zauner would adapt the screenplay while her band would provide the soundtrack. The team also tapped Will Sharpe to direct the adaptation, while Stacey Sher and Jason Kim would serve as producers.

MGM shared the film would be a "coming-of-age story about a half-Korean daughter who returns to small town Oregon to care for her Korean mother. Critical and smothering Chong-mi and creative and independent Michelle struggle to understand each other across a cultural fault line, only learning to see and accept one another through the formative power of music and the vibrant flavors of Korean cooking."

They have not yet released an update regarding the film.

Edward Ashton's hit 2022 novel Mickey7 inspired the upcoming science fiction film Mickey 17, directed and written by Academy-winning South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho.

The adaptation, currently scheduled for release in January 2025, stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette, among others.

The Martian and Artemis author Andy Weir will see another adaptation of one of his books — Project Hail Mary — on the big screen.

Directed by Christopher Miller, the Project Hail Mary movie will be in theaters on March 20, 2026. Its cast includes Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller.

In October 2023, Legendary Entertainment secured the film adaptation of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist after the project was halted several times. At the time, Jack Thorne was attached to write the film.

"[The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago], a young man who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, above all, following our dreams," the official description of the project read.

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah's best-selling novel, is about two French sisters trying to survive in Nazi-occupied France.

Following the book's success, TriStar Pictures optioned the adaptation but faced delays in the production due to several issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking with Collider, director Michelle MacLaren's replacement, Mélanie Laurent, said it was "super hard" for them to find another date after shutting down the production several times.

In June 2022, Netflix confirmed that Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was getting an adaptation with Leslye Headland as the director.

It will be the author's second book to be adapted for the screen following Daisy Jones & The Six once released.

Hiram Walker's journey during the pre-Civil War South will be explored in the adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' book The Water Dancer.

According to Variety, Nia DaCosta will direct the feature film adaptation, while Metro Goldwyn Mayer will back the project. Maceo-Lyn, Brad Pitt's Plan B and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films will produce the flick.

Wicked, the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name, will be released on November 22, 2024 — a year before the arrival of Wicked: Part Two.

Cynthia Erivo stars in the film alongside Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater and Bowen Yang, to name a few.