Plenty of successful film franchises over the years have been derived from famous novels or book series. From Middle Earth to the Wizarding World, adaptations are just part of the course for Hollywood. However, some of these famous franchises are expanded upon even after they have been filmed.
Often the writers of the original books, or even those who wish to continue on from the previous work set out, continue to create prequels and sequels as the films are being released. There's been a fair few movies that have seen additions in novel form years after they have been seen in theaters.
Hunger Games
example of the franchise and universe being expanded upon after the film series had concluded. The series was incredibly successful, so much so that author Suzanne Collins wanted to dive back into her world.
She created a prequel book, entitled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which documented the start of the creation of the Hunger Games, the earliest versions of this event, as well as the life of a young President Snow.
Percy Jackson
The original Percy Jackson movie was successful enough to spawn a sequel and is now being developed for Disney+ as an ongoing series. But while the character was finding his feet on the big screen, his world in the books continued to expand.
From crossover novels with The Kane Chronicles to prequel stories and even a brand new series featuring Percy and some new friends known as The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan continued to write within this universe of magic, gods, and heroes.
Alex Rider
The Alex Rider film has become a bit of a cult hit, with enough popularity across the UK especially for Amazon Prime Video to create a series based upon the best selling books. Anthony Horowitz, the creator of the teen spy didn't stop there though.
Stormbreaker on the big screen, Horrowitz continued to craft this world of espionage. Multiple prequels and sequels have been released since with the famous writer likely not slowing down anytime soon.
Harry Potter
It seems obvious to suggest that the Harry Potter franchise and the Wizarding World that it has spun-off has been incredibly successful. It may be hard to , but J.K. Rowling was actually still creating the books as the film franchise was proceeding.
Now that it's all been wrapped up though there have been lots of other works of fiction, such as the Fantastic Beasts and Cursed Child screenplays and short stories based on the universe like the Tales of Beadle the Bard.
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic film from 1962 based on the incredibly famous book. The film itself has been considered to be one of the definitive re-tellings of the original novel, but in 2015 Harper Lee did something entirely unexpected.
The famed author created a sequel entitled Go Set a Watchman, which followed the events of the previous entry but 20 years later. There's no doubt that the sequel novel will likely be adapted to screen at some stage.
The Maze Runner
The dystopian futuristic world of The Maze Runner franchise captured the hearts and minds of the young adults that got to enjoy the great work of James Dashner. The author allowed the rights of the books to be turned into a successful movie franchise.
However, Dashner didn't want to stop expanding on his world and as the films continued to release in cinemas, a number of prequels also came into development. Another prequel in the series is set to release in the next few years.
Fifty Shades
The controversial Fifty Shades series has been a financial success all things considered and saw the release of a number of films, based on the extremely popular adult fiction novels. However, this story isn't quite complete yet.
The world of Mr. Grey was developed further in other releases from the author E.L. James, with 5 books in total in the series, the most recent of which was actually released in 2017. This romance series clearly still has a lot more to explore.
The Wizard Of Oz
The original Wizard of Oz film has become such an icon in cinema that it was never that surprising that multiple creative teams and multiple studios tried to put together prequels and sequels about this mythical land.
However, even after the death of the original author L. Frank Baum, multiple people have had the rights to the franchise and have created books about it. Most notably after the release of the 1939 movie, Gregory Maguire created Wicked in 1995 inspiring the Broadway hit!
The Handmaid's Tale
Before the incredibly popular Hulu series, the dystopic Handmaid's Tale was adapted from the famous book into a film. The 1990 classic was an extremely accurate representation of the trials and tribulations that these women had to go through in this bleak landscape.
Margaret Atwood returned with a sequel to the original novel as recently as 2019, bringing audiences The Testaments. This was a critically acclaimed smash hit which is sure to influence future adaptations of Atwood's work.
James Bond
The James Bond franchise is one of Britain's most famous exports. The series of films across numerous decades are based upon the iconic novels by Ian Fleming. However, even after Fleming's death there continue to be books released in the James Bond universe.
Anthony Horrowitz, for instance, was given the opportunity to continue within the Bond world, using his espionage knowledge from the Alex Rider series to create brand new adventures featuring the famed 007.
