Compiled by Annabel
Top of my list are not one, but two films starring Jacob Elordi, who hit the big time with Saltburn. I didn’t realise he’s Australian, not that that matters.
Coming to Netflix in early November (and select screens in mid-October) is Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. Elordi will play the monster, with Oscar Isaac as his creator. Mia Goth plays the Dr’s wife, Elizabeth; Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance and David Bradley support. The trailer looks superb, loaded with Gothic horror tones as well as being tonally dark, you’ll need to turn your room lights down – i.e. typical Del Toro. Do we need another Frankenstein movie? Probably, the Branagh/De Niro combo only made no. 17 in The Guardian’s top 20 Frankenstein movies (Mel Brooks’ hilarious Young Frankenstein was no. 3). I’ll certainly watch this one, given that Del Toro is at the helm.
In cinemas in Feb 2026, our second dose of Elordi is in Wuthering Heights in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) loose adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic novel for Warner Bros. We get not one, but two Australians in the lead roles, for Cathy to Elordi’s Heathcliff is Margot Robbie. The adaptation hasn’t been without controversy, with Heathcliff’s casting considered by some as whitewashing, given the character’s racial ambiguity in the novel.
When I read that Charlie XCX has contributed original songs, I knew that I wouldn’t be bothered to see this one – it seems each generation needs its own version.
Although Colin Firth will forever hold a place in my heart as Mr. Darcy in the BBC’s 1995 series of Pride & Prejudice, a place that even Matthew Macfadyen couldn’t fill in the later 2005 film, as a Slow Horses superfan, I can’t help but hope that Jack Lowden may be able to supplant him in the upcoming Netflix miniseries, which started filming in July and should hit our screens next year – but no date yet.
The new series, adapted by Dolly Alderton, claims it will stay faithful to the book, and has some stellar casting. Emma Corrin (The Crown) is Elizabeth Bennet, and Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell are her parents. It’ll be fascinating to see how Colman plays Mrs. Bennet versus Alison Steadman and Brenda Blethyn before her. Fiona Shaw will be Lady Catherine de Burgh. Daryl McCorrmack will be the lovable Bingley. Welshman Euros Lyn (Dr Who & Heartstopper) directs. Fingers crossed.
Reaching screens next July, Christopher Nolan’s new film, The Odyssey, will be his most expensive yet, and has been shot entirely on 70mm. Starring a ripped Matt Damon as the King of Ithaca voyaging home after the Trojan Wars to his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland (Telemachus, his son), Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Robert Pattison are the top-listed support, with Charlize Theron as Circe.
I’m not sure about this, having lined up The Return – Uberto Pasolini’s well-reviewed 2024 equivalent starring an equally ripped but more aged Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Binoche to watch on Prime. Let’s wait for the Nolan reviews.
And finally in this selection of adaptations of classics, coming to US big screens on November 26, and streaming on Netflix on Christmas Day is Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia origin story, The Magician’s Nephew. Daniel Craig will play the Professor, Carey Mulligan is Mabel Kirke and newcomer David McKenna is her son Digory (left). Emma Mackey is the White Witch, Jadis. The big surprise though, is that Meryl Streep is rumored to be the voice of Aslan. I don’t know if I could cope with a fully gender-swapped lion though, having grown up with Aslan’s mane. But I shall certainly be watching over turkey sandwiches!
Do share your thoughts on these adaptations. Can the new ones live up to your favourites?
Why do they keep re-adapting these classic novels?
I really wish filmmakers/TV producers would branch out a bit more in terms of which books get adapted. Austen has been truly done to death, and Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights haven’t been exactly neglected, either . . .
I agree totally. But I will watch most of them again I expect!