10 Best Sci-Fi Books Like The Hunger Games That Never Got A Movie Adaptation

The new trailer for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has sparked renewed interest in science fiction and got people thinking about book adaptations that never happened. While there are countless amazing books, some translate particularly well to the big screen, often because they were already written with strong visuals in mind.

As a huge cinema fan, I’ve noticed how many fantastic fantasy and sci-fi books are getting the big-screen treatment – and often becoming incredible movies! Think about the Lord of the Rings trilogy – a true masterpiece. And Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films? Absolutely stunning. We’re also seeing a lot of great adaptations that capture that same exciting, sometimes dark, energy as The Hunger Games, which is awesome.

Shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and its follow-up, The Testaments, have explored similar themes on television, but it’s been a long time since a big-screen movie truly focused on this type of story. That could be about to change, though, with new installments of both The Hunger Games and Divergent coming out this year.

Now that films like The Maze Runner have proven popular, we can expect to see more books and series adapted for the big screen. The exciting, large-scale experience of a movie theater is a great fit for these kinds of stories, and it seems likely that many more will be made into films soon.

Red Rising

Pierce Brown’s Red Rising is a hugely popular science fiction series, and many fans are wondering why it hasn’t been adapted for the screen yet. A movie version was once planned, but now it’s being developed as a TV series – though it’s still uncertain if it will actually happen.

With elements of fantasy, dystopian fiction, and space opera, Red Rising offers a lot to like. The books use a unique color-based system to represent social status and explore important social issues within a compelling narrative.

While it might take a while, it seems very likely that Red Rising will eventually be adapted for the screen. For now, the books themselves offer a wonderfully original and captivating experience.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

The science fiction series Dungeon Crawler Carl has become incredibly popular recently, and it’s almost certain to be adapted into a movie or TV show. While a streaming series is a possibility, the story would likely work even better as a theatrical film.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is a unique story that blends the exciting elements of RPG video games with the premise of a competition show set during an alien invasion. It draws inspiration from popular stories like Solo Leveling, The Hunger Games, and The Running Man, combining action with both humor and genuine emotion.

Matt Dinniman is a prolific author with seven published books and another one in progress, and all of them would translate well to film. Though Carl is currently the most developed project for television, it could still be adapted for a movie instead.

Scythe

Neal Shusterman’s novel, Scythe, is likely to become a major film or television series. The story takes place in a future where an AI named the Thunderhead controls everything, creating a seemingly perfect world, but at a significant price.

The story follows Citra and Rowan, who are chosen to train as Scythes – individuals tasked with controlling the population through the difficult act of taking lives. They must ultimately decide who lives and who dies to maintain balance in society.

Scythe is a gripping and thought-provoking story, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. It tackles challenging themes and offers some fascinating insights. The story would translate well to the big screen, either as a single movie or a series of films.

The Forever War

Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War is a powerful novel about the realities of war and its purpose, informed by the author’s own time serving in Vietnam. Published in 1974, it offers a thought-provoking look at the senselessness of conflict as society evolves around it.

Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War is a remarkable science fiction novel that greatly influenced Ender’s Game. It’s a critically acclaimed work, having won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, and there have been several attempts to turn it into a movie, but so far, none have come to fruition.

The novel explores a society where citizens are forced to make sacrifices, a theme similar to The Hunger Games. It’s likely to be adapted into a movie someday.

The Dispossessed

Many of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novels, like The Left Hand of Darkness and The Word for World is Forest, would translate well to the big screen. However, The Dispossessed perhaps has the most promise as a film adaptation.

I’ve always been fascinated by The Dispossessed because it doesn’t give you a simple future to look at. It’s not some perfect world, and it’s definitely not a nightmare one either. Instead, it blends the good and the bad, really making you think about how different ways of organizing society – like capitalism and anarchism – could actually work, and what problems they might create. It’s a complex world, and that’s what makes it so compelling.

Although some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s previous adaptations, like the animated film Tales from Earthsea, haven’t been particularly successful, her novel The Dispossessed has strong potential to become a powerful and meaningful movie if made well.

Maddaddam

Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, starting with Oryx and Crake, would be perfect for a film adaptation, particularly now. The first book centers on Snowman and his care for Crake, a human created through genetic engineering, while exploring the dangers of runaway technology and its devastating effects on the planet.

Margaret Atwood’s work has proven to adapt well to the screen, as seen with The Testaments, demonstrating her stories provide a solid foundation for visual narratives. Maddaddam, in particular, would make a compelling film, though it would likely be a more intimate and subtle story compared to something like The Hunger Games.

The most compelling science fiction holds a mirror to our own world and tackles important issues. Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy does just that, and this makes it a strong candidate for becoming a truly significant series of films.

Lock In

While John Scalzi is well-known for his Old Man’s War series, his Lock In novels are particularly compelling and would translate beautifully to the big screen. These stories focus on a world impacted by Haden’s syndrome, a disease that has left many people unable to move, and follow a more police procedural style than a typical dystopian narrative.

As a huge sci-fi fan, I’m fascinated by these stories where people live through robots – basically, your robot body is you. It makes you think about what really defines a person when your physical form doesn’t matter. But the books don’t just present this cool future; they also explore the really tricky problems it could create, especially when it comes to things like crime and figuring out who’s responsible for what.

Although none of John Scalzi’s novels have been adapted into films yet, it’s likely just a matter of time. Of his books—including Red Shirts, Starter Villain, and The Kaiju Preservation Society—Lock In would be the most suitable for a movie adaptation.

The Bone Season

Samantha Shannon is a rising star in the world of genre fiction, gaining popularity with her Roots of Chaos books, especially on BookTok. However, many fans believe her debut series, The Bone Season, is the most deserving of a film adaptation, with enough material for multiple movies.

Shannon’s novels are set in a futuristic, troubled world where Paige Mahoney uses her psychic powers while attending Oxford University. Drawing inspiration from books like Divergent, Twilight, and the dark academia genre—particularly The Secret History—these stories are full of thrilling crime and courageous acts of rebellion.

The Bone Season books are a complete series, and although a TV show was once planned, it seems to have been cancelled. That makes now a great opportunity to adapt the story for the big screen.

A Canticle For Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, first published in 1959, is a unique and thought-provoking science fiction novel. Set in a Catholic monastery after a global catastrophe, Leibowitz is surprisingly captivating and often funny, despite its serious premise.

This story offers a thoughtful and engaging experience, much like the Hunger Games, by exploring humanity’s self-destructive tendencies and drawing lessons from history. Leibowitz prioritizes character development and world-building, while also tackling significant themes.

While a movie based on Canticle for Leibowitz might not be a blockbuster, the story is a classic and would make a powerful film. It’s surprising no one has adapted it yet.

The Sun Eater

Christopher Ruocchio’s The Sun Eater series is a standout in modern science fiction and would make a fantastic movie. It blends elements of Dune and Star Wars, and the first book includes thrilling gladiatorial combat similar to The Hunger Games. It’s a truly epic story that fans shouldn’t miss.

Full of exciting action and a grand scale, The Sun Eater follows Hadrian Marlowe as he looks back on a life often marked by chaos and ruin. The series includes seven novels, three shorter stories called novellas, and numerous short stories – all of which would make compelling movies or TV shows.

The success of the Dune films proves that audiences still love large-scale, epic science fiction in theaters. And for fans eagerly awaiting The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, there are some fantastic books to enjoy in the meantime.

2026-04-23 15:44