The Idea of You & 7 Other Movies Based on Fanfiction


It was recently announced that well-known actress Anne Hathaway will star in a film adaptation of the novel The Idea of You. The movie has not received a release date, but it is reported by Deadline that production will start in October and be available for streaming on Amazon Prime.


The novel is said to be loosely based on Harry Styles and One Direction and joins a long line of fan fiction turned movies. In the past decade, fan fiction has become an acceptable basis for films and novels, and studios have made blockbuster hits out of what once was a fan-made story online.

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8 The Idea Of You

There has been speculation about whether The Idea of You is truly based on Harry Styles and serves an alternative universe (AU) where One Direction still exists but goes by a different name. However, fans of both the novel and the band have noticed striking similarities between the real-life singer and his fictional counterpart. The film’s leading man has not been announced yet, which could confirm if the book is about Styles based on his resemblance.

The novel follows a 40-year-old mother as she takes her daughter to a music festival and starts a relationship with the boy band member. The book explores age gap relationships and how a famous person and a non-famous person navigate a relationship.

7 The Twilight Saga

The Twilight Saga has inspired funny tweets and has been critiqued for its overdramatized storylines and wild scenes that had fans in shock in theaters, but once fans found out that Twilight and the subsequent sequels are based on fan fiction, all the drama made sense. Author Stephanie Meyer confirmed on her blog that she started writing Twilight after a vivid dream.

Still, she went on to tell Entertainment Weekly that My Chemical Romance greatly inspired her characters. Once the books became a phenomenon, fans quickly the connections to the characters and the band, making Twilight one of the most successful fan fiction to be published and adapted.

6 WickedCropped Wicked Poster

Fans eagerly await the release of the Wicked movie, which will be the second adaption of the novel, with the first being the widely successful Broadway musical. Wicked is fan fiction since it takes the characters from the original story and puts them in a different setting but still uses the original content as a source for the characters’ backstory.

The Wicked novel takes the original story and builds on what was already established in The Wizard of Oz but filled in the gaps fans felt needed to be explained. The first part of the two-part film is set to release on Christmas 2024.

5 Fifty Shades Series

While it may be hard to believe without Twilight, there would be no Fifty Shades series since E.L James wrote the books as a nod to her favorite vampire couple and was posted on Fanfiction.com using Stephanie Meyer’s characters’ names. The fan fic captured so many fans’ attention that they were adapted to novels and, of course, movies that took the world by storm.

Most viewers forgot that the movies were based on Twilight once they became invested in Anastasia and Christian’s romantic relationship, and even though the films have been critiqued for their representation of the BDSM community, the movies still captivated fans and made the books even more of a success than they were before they were published. The movies did so well that they became Dakota Johnson’s highest-grossing set of films to date.

4 The Mortal Instruments

Cassandra Claire has written many book series that all exist in one universe she created from the world of Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments. Forbes reported that Claire removed all her fan fiction once her books went to publication.

While some fans saw this as a move of self-preservation for her work, others saw it as a way to show publishers that Claire was a serious author who wasn’t associated with the taboo world of fan fiction. Unlike other adaptations, unless viewers have read the original stories, the movies bear little resemblance to Harry Potter, which allowed the series to gain its legion of devoted fans.

3 After Series

After follows the tumultuous relationship between Hardin and Tessa as they attend college together and navigate dramatic life events. Fans of the series have noted that Hardin and Tessa are sometimes toxic but also suitable for each other. The push and pull of their relationship drew fans into the original source material.

Before their published novels, Anna Todd’s series was a notorious Harry Styles fan fiction that spanned four books and had millions of reads. The stories had to undergo several changes to get the green light to be turned into a movie to remove direct references to One Direction and Harry Styles; however, it is still clear who inspired the original characters.

2 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ride the fine line between fan fiction and parody; however, the novel is primarily regarded by readers as an AU fan fiction since the characters share names and personalities with the original characters from Jane Austen’s story. The inclusion of zombies turned the original story on its head. It gave the ridiculous twists that often come with some of the most popular fan fiction, whether they become published novels or only live on the internet.

Like Twilight, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies skipped the online phase and went straight to publication, where it built a solid fan base that guaranteed success for the film.

1 Star Trek: The Search For Spock

Even though fan fiction is regarded as a relatively new source of movie-making material, fan fiction has been inspiring filmmakers as far back as the 70s, if not before. Fan fiction inspired the third Star Trek movie, which CBR.com confirmed.

A fan-written poem is something most films don’t try since they are so short compared to other fan fics that can span as many books and inspire entire movie franchises. However, this unique movie made fans feel heard by producers and fueled their argument that Star Trek is better than Star Wars.

Next: 10 Must-Read Harry Potter Fanfics, According to Reddit



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