Must-See Book-to-Screen Adaptations Out this April!

As the United States edges closer and closer to the reality of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, the series adaptation enters its sixth and final season. Of course, Elisabeth Moss returns as June, and she’s ready to incite a revolution. Also starring: Yvonne Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine, and Josh Charles. The Handmaid’s Tale returns on April 8 with the first three episodes of the season. New episodes will follow weekly on Tuesdays, with the season final scheduled for May 27.

This spy thriller is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell. Rami Malek stars as Charles Heller, a CIA cryptographer who loses his wife in a terrorist attack. When the CIA refuses to retaliate, Charles realizes he has to take matters into his own hands. Rachel Brosnahan and Laurence Fishburne also star. The project was directed by James Hawes and written by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli. You can catch the movie (which is the second time this novel has been adapted!) in theaters this month.

Netflix is bringing us a new romance series to be obsessed with this April. This one is a western romance based on the series by Jodi Thomas. In Ransom Canyon, three ranching family dynasties fight for control over the land, and romance and family drama can be found in equal measure. Josh Duhamel stars as Staten Kirkland, a rancher and the last descendent of Ransom Canyon’s founding father. Minka Kelly plays his best friend Quinn O’Grady. As these families duke it out, a mysterious stranger rolls into town.

The Ugly Stepsister is a Norwegian horror comedy film directed and co-written by Emilie Blichfeld. It’s based on the classic fairytale “Cinderella.” The story follows Elvira (Lyra Myren) who is willing to do anything to become more beautiful, especially when she’s in competition with her beautiful stepsister Agnes (played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss). The Ugly Stepsister originally premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, but it’s hitting theaters everywhere on April 18.

Here’s another popular series that’s coming up on its final season. You, based on the novels by Caroline Kepnes, stars Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a serial killer who develops obsessive relationships with women. This season, Joe returns to New York and is ready to finally find his happily ever after… but ghosts of his past threaten to ruin everything. All ten episodes of the final season will be available to stream on Netflix on April 24.

On Swift Horses is a movie based on Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel of the same name. Muriel (Daisy Edgar Jones) is excited to start her life with her husband Lee (Will Poulter) in San Diego. But then Lee’s younger brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) enters their lives and introduces Muriel to a world of possibilities beyond anything she could have imagined. This film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. Now it’s finally coming to theaters everywhere on April 24.

Witch Watch will be streaming on Crunchyroll in early April! This anime is an adaptation of the Shonen Jump manga by Kenta Shinohara. Morihito Otogi is a high school student who comes from a family of ogres. Still, his life is fairly normal until his childhood friend Nico, a witch-in-training, chooses him as her familiar. Now Morihito is tasked with protecting Nico from “a foretold calamity.”