Novel adaptations continue to prove popular on screen. One of the biggest movies of the year, Ryan Gosling‘s new sci-fi masterpiece Project Hail Mary, is based on the 2021 novel by Andy Weir, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller adapting it for the big screen. Earning $683 million worldwide, becoming an enormous hit with critics, and now smashing expectations on streaming as one of the most-watched movies globally, Project Hail Mary is yet another example that audiences across the world are hungry for more book-to-screen projects.
On July 7, exciting author Jessica Knoll‘s latest novel, Helpless, finally debuted. A hugely talented editor, novelist, and screenwriter, Knoll’s previous work includes 2015’s Luckiest Girl Alive, 2018’s The Favorite Sister, and 2023’s Bright Young Woman, with the latter — a fictionalized retelling of the crimes of Ted Bundy focused on his victims — set for a TV adaptation courtesy of Erik Feig’s Picturestart and Fifth Season, with Knoll writing and executive producing. Previously, Luckiest Girl Alive was adapted into a 2022 movie starring Mila Kunis. Now, as her new and spiciest novel yet hits shelves, it has been confirmed that Universal Global Television has acquired the rights to adapt Helpless for the screen.
The novel, which, according to Knoll herself, was inspired by the question, “Why do so many women kind of harbor these taboo sexual fantasies?”, is reportedly inspired by A Court of Thorns and Roses, the smash hit from Sarah J. Maas. Knoll will adapt her book for the screen and will also executive produce, alongside two-time Academy Award nominee Stacy Sher. In a statement about this exciting new venture, Knoll said:
“With ‘Helpless,’ I wrote the book I’ve been dying to read, and I’m so excited to make the show I’ve been dying to watch,” Knoll said. “Stacey Sher has produced so many of my favorite (and most anticipated!) adaptations and working alongside her and the talented team at Universal Global Television feels like I’ve scratched off a winning lotto ticket.”
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
05
What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
06
How does your universe treat good and evil? A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
07
What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You’d find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Middle-earth
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
The Wizarding World
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Westeros · The Known World
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
The United Federation of Planets
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.
A Novel Adaptation is a Massive Hit on Netflix Right Now
Yet more proof of the hunger for novel adaptations from mass audiences is the current success of I Will Find You, the latest Netflix adaptation from acclaimed crime author Harlan Coben. It was recently reported that I Will Find You has picked up over 85 million views as of last week, which makes it one of the most-watched Netflix shows of the last few years. With that in mind, Helpless will be hoping for a slice of the streaming success pie.
Helpless is getting a TV adaptation. Stay tuned to Collider for more, and check out I Will Find You on Netflix.
