Upcoming Film Adaptations, February 2018

February brings with it, as most months do, plenty of new movies based on previously-published works.

Peter Rabbit (2/9)

I remember listening to a Nerdist podcast in mid-2016 with Domhnall Gleeson where he said he didn’t have much on his plate in the near future. That changed at some point because the guy is now everywhere. This month he plays Farmer McGregor in the hybrid live-action/animation adaptation of Peter Rabbit and the subsequent books featuring that character from author Beatrix Potter. James Corden voices Peter, one of several anthropomorphized animals who live on McGregor’s farm in a story that it seems involves…well…elements that aren’t in the original.

Black Panther (2/16)

This isn’t the first feature film starring a black super hero, but it is the first one that’s part of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Chadwick Boseman stars after first appearing in Captain America: Civil War in a story that finds T’Challa needing to protect the nation of Wakanda which he rules from threats both internal (Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger) and external. While not directly based on it, the movie draws plenty of inspiration from Black Panther Vol. 3, written by Christopher Priest. That run from the early 2000s that refreshed the character to focus more heavily on his royalty as well as his adventuring and features many of the characters now appearing on film.

Annihilation (2/23)

Natalie Portman stars as Lena in this adaptation of the book of the same name from author Jeff VanderMeer, the first in a trilogy. Portman plays a biologist who leads a team into a mysterious area known as “The Shimmer” (in the book it’s simply called “Area X”) that is growing and consuming all life in its path. All other expeditions have all gone completely missing with the exception of one member of the previous team, the biologist’s husband.

Every Day (2/23)

The latest young-adult romance to hit screen Every Day is based on the book from author David Levithan. In the story Rhiannon (Angourie Rice) one day finds the body of her boyfriend Justin has been taken over by a strange spirit named A, who jumps each day into the mind of a different person. A connects with Rhiannon in a way they haven’t with anyone else and seeks her out each day no matter whose body they’re in. While initially skeptical Rhiannon too falls in love with A’s spirit, no matter the body they inhabit.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.