50 YA Books We Want Adapted to the Big or Small Screen

Cover to Legend by Marie Lu. Image via Putnam Juvenile.

27. Legend

Marie Lu’s earlier series actually has already snagged an option. However, it seems like there hasn’t been any movement on a Legend adaptation since around 2013, when Lu told MTV that producers had started a search for a director. We’ll keep hope alive, since this dystopian novel seems like a natural and interesting successor to The Hunger Games.

The Legend trilogy, which concluded in 2013 with Champion, actually has two protagonists on two very different sides of the Republic, set in what used to be the United States.

Anyways, June is the top of the top. She’s not only got ties to the military, but she’s also a brilliant strategist herself. Meanwhile, Day’s the top of the top, but in a different sense, since he’s one of the most wanted criminals in the Republic. Not bad for a 15-year-old.

However, the two’s different paths end up colliding. Specifically, June’s brother, Metias, is murdered, and it looks like Day might have done it. Now it’s time for June to put her skills to use and track him down herself for a little dose of revenge.

What she’ll find, though, will change how she views the Republic.

With its dual perspectives, it seems like it would naturally lend itself well to something like a TV series, even though it already has a movie option instead.