Book-to-movie adaptations have always been staples of the film industry. Literature has always been a point of inspiration for films, being a source of many classics that have been beloved for generations, including Harry Potter, The Godfather, and many more. When done right, movie adaptations can be some of the greatest and most successful films. However, this proves to be a difficult task. Living up to outstanding books and pleasing an already established fanbase can be daunting and seem to be some of the main reasons readers no longer look forward to movie adaptations of their favorite reads.
As an avid reader myself, seeing some of my favorite books hit the big screens has always left me feeling conflicted. On one hand, I am super excited to see the stories I love be appreciated by a wider audience and come to life through film, but on the other, the movie version always seems to disappoint by being unable to live up to the vision readers have in their heads.
One of the most disheartening things for readers to see in a movie adaptation is when major character details are left out. My most remembered instance of this is from Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (2010). The biggest shock came from the main characters, who are meant to be twelve years old at the beginning of the series (according to the books), but in the film versions, they are in their second or third year of high school. Additionally, Annabeth is known for her blonde hair throughout the book series as it’s vital to her character due to the fact that she is known for defying the stereotypical ‘dumb blonde’ ideal, but she is given brown hair in the movies. With the release of the second film in the series, it only gets much worse and further from the book’s original vision.
The Percy Jackson movies were a huge disappointment to a loyal fanbase. The two movies that were made from the five-book series flopped and did not bring in enough revenue to continue the series.
But why does this happen?
It seems to be in Percy Jackson’s case that a lack of a big enough budget led to its demise. The Percy Jackson series rivaled Harry Potter in the book world, but the film counterpart did not even compare. This was all the more upsetting after the buzz that was created around how Percy was the next “Harry Potter” in the months leading up to the movie’s release. While Percy Jackson is among one of the worst book-to-movie adaptations, it does not stand alone. Others that failed to impress book fans include The Giver (2014), Paper Towns (2015), and The Girl on the Train (2016).
It can be a huge feat to adapt great books into equally great movies. Movies can be doomed by multiple factors including bad casting, screenwriting, production, etc. The stories also may not translate well into motion pictures as both forms have their own unique limitations and advantages. The paper-to-screen transition may be harder than it looks.
Some upcoming book-to-movie/TV adaptations to look forward to (or fear) in 2022 include The Summer I Turned Pretty, a long-awaited redemption for Percy Jackson on Disney+ as a TV series, and Where the Crawdads Sing.