As an avid reader, when I get submerged into a well-written and exciting book, I vividly picture the characters that I am reading about. I create the perfect portrayal in my head from how they dress and look to how they interact with the other characters. By the time I finish reading I have an exact picture in my mind of what a character should look like, and sometimes even who should play him or her if a movie is ever made. Then I wait to be disappointed by the movie. Obviously, the books will always be better than the movie, but certain series have definitely had better adaptations than others.

Twilight:

For me, the most disappointing books series adaptation was the Twilight series. For months the fans anxiously awaited the reveal of who was going to play the god-like Edward. There were plenty of speculations and fan requests, and in the end we got Robert Pattinson the awkward guy that had played the attractive nerd, Cedric Diggory, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Seriously? He was perfect for Cedric Diggory (because who wasn’t perfectly cast in the Harry Potter series? – more on that later), but he was no Edward. Cedric was attractive because he didn’t know he was attractive. But he wasn’t Edward level attractive. What happened to the idea of Henry Cavill? Granted, waiting out for the Superman role may have worked in his favour. But, come on! We deserved better than the scrawny Pattinson and the barely-able-to-act Kristen Stewart. Good thing I was always on team Jacob, but even Taylor Lautner was a bit of a let down compared to the hunk I had pictured in my head.

Harry Potter:

Like I said earlier, not all movie adaptations have been a huge let down. For example, the Harry Potter series could not have been better cast. From Harry Potter himself to Dudley Dursley and everyone in between I was impressed. Though I will admit, I enjoyed the original Dumbledore more than his replacement. Now when I go back and re-read the series, I’m happy to see Maggie Smith when I read about Professor McGonagall and Emma Watson will forever be Hermione. (It also helps that Emma Watson herself is killing it in the real world standing up for women’s rights as the United Nations’ Women Goodwill Ambassador.) I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait to see her as Belle in Beauty and the Beast early next year. Nor can I wait to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them later this month.

These are probably the most notable book adaptation series after Lord of the Rings, but I only read those books after I saw the movies, so when I read the books I had no choice but to picture the characters I’d already seen in the movie.

Other series I was very excited to see made into movie were both the Divergent and Hunger Games series.

Hunger Games:

Let’s talk about Hunger Games first. Now I love Jennifer Lawrence and thinks she’s great, but the character wasn’t meant to be white, so what’s up with that? I will say that I’m very happy that she stuck with the series despite winning an Oscar for another movie. A lot of actresses would’ve left this role to go on and find something better. Thanks for sticking with it, Jen. No one else would’ve been able to do Katniss like you. What did you think about the Peta and Gale characters? I think the actors both played the roles well. I think the districts were done well and the capital was just as over the top as it was meant to be, though I definitely pictured certain things very differently – like the train and where they stayed while at the first Hunger Games amongst other small things throughout the series.

Divergent:

Moving on to Divergent. Now Theo James as Four was delectable and completely attractive from head to toe, but Shailene Woodly wasn’t my perfect Tris. She was playing in too many roles around the time that this series came out and it took away from her authenticity. Not to mention two actors that played her boyfriends in other movies were her brother (Ansel Elgort played Gus in The Fault in Our Stars) and nemesis (Miles Teller played Sutter in The Spectacular Now) in this movie. But now they’ve decided to stop the movie series and continue as a TV series. That’s not okay. Not for the fans or for the actors.

What to expect next:

It’ll be interesting to see how the Miss Peregrine’s series progresses. So far, I think it’s off to a good start. The sets were absolutely amazing. What did you think? Also, I haven’t read all the books for Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave series. Anyone have thoughts on what they thought about those series?

Some older series will supposedly be made into movies this coming year starting with the Captain Underpants series and the Magic Tree House series for younger readers. We’ll see how they turn out. Make sure to get your hands on them before the trailers start coming out so your opinions on the characters don’t get tainted.

Also, keep an eye out for the new stand-alone book adaptations coming out in 2017. I’m excited to see the Jumani remake and Wonder (one of my favorite books) come to life on the big screen.

I’ll be tuning in early next month to talk about my thoughts on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

In the meantime let me know what some of your favorite movie book adaptations are and what you’re excited to see be turned into a movie.

Written by Liz Sarant

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