All the Must-Watch Page-to-Screen Adaptations Coming Out in December

⚓ Books    📅 2025-12-02    👤 surdeus    👁️ 2      

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With the holidays on the horizon, you could spend the rest of the year watching every new holiday movie coming out this season (we hear there are around 90 new ones). Or… you could make time to watch a few more page-to-screen adaptations to get you through the end of the year. Think thrilling mysteries and emotional dramas and everything in between. These adaptations are reimagining some of your favorite stories—and some you may have never heard of before!

merrily we roll along movie poster

Merrily We Roll Along (Theatrical Release, December 5)

This Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical is based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. And on December 5, the musical will be in theaters everywhere. This is a filmed version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway production, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez. Richard Linklater is also currently working on a film adaptation of Merrily We Roll Along, but as he is hoping to film it over 20 years so we can see the actors naturally age, we shouldn’t expect to see that until 2040.

rosemead movie poster

Rosemead (Theatrical Release, December 5)

Rosemead is a drama film directed by Eric Lin, with a screenplay by Marilyn Fu. It’s based on the Los Angeles Times column “A Dying Mother’s Plan: Buy A Gun. Rent a Hotel Room. Kill Her Son,” which was published on May 14, 2017. Lucy Liu stars as Irene, a terminally ill mother who is shocked to discover her son’s violent tendencies. Before her death, she must confront how far she is willing to go to protect her son and prevent imminent danger for others.

100 nights of hero movie poster

100 Nights of Hero (Theatrical Release, December 5)

Based on the graphic novel The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg, which is based on One Thousand and One Nights, this story follows a woman named Cherry (Maika Monroe) whose husband leaves her alone for 100 days to test her fidelity. In his absence, she gets wrapped up in a love triangle with her maid Hero (Emma Corrin) and her husband’s friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine). The film is directed by Julia Jackman and also stars Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant, and Felicity Jones.

percy jackson and the olympians tv show poster

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+, December 10)

Percy Jackson returns for a second season on December 10. For season 2, we’ll join Percy, Annabeth, and Grover as they go on an adventure to save Camp Half-Blood. This is based on the second book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, The Sea of Monsters. The second season will be eight episodes total, with the first two episodes being released on the 10th. Subsequent episodes will drop weekly. Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Grover Underwood will reprise their roles. Joining the cast are Daniel Diemer, Sandra Bernhard, Kristen Schaal, and Margaret Cho.

Human Specimens title card

Human Specimens (Prime, December 18)

The new Prime TV mini-series Human Specimens is a psychological thriller based on the novel by Kanae Minato, the Alex Award-winning author of Confessions. This five-part series is the story of Shirô Sakaki, a butterfly researcher, who confesses to turning six children—including his own son—into “human specimens.” Drive My Car star Nishijima Hidetoshi will play the role of Professor Sakaki. Hiroki Ryûichi directs the project.

the housemaid movie poster

The Housemaid (Theatrical Release, December 19)

Director Paul Feig’s adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel The Housemaid also hits theaters this month. Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie Calloway, a troubled young woman who becomes the housemaid for a wealthy, seemingly perfect family. But nothing is ever as perfect as it seems. Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, and Elizabeth Perkins also star.

tales of the teenage mutant ninja turtles comic book cover

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount+, December)

An exact date has not been announced yet, but a second season of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be out later this month. Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, and Ayo Edebiri reprise their voice roles from the first season and the film Mutant Mayhem. While these are all new adventures for our beloved turtles, the series is based on the comic book characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.


While December is bringing us a few adaptations of works by authors of color, we can’t help but hope for more in 2026. We’ll make sure to keep adaptations of diverse stories on our radar, and we can’t wait to share more of them with you in the new year.

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