Whenever you hear that your favorite book is being made into a movie or series, there’s always a part of you that’s worried they’ll mess it up. From missing plot lines to changing endings, the adaptations often don’t live up to the hype. If you’ve read B. E. Jones’ hit thriller Wilderness, you know just how important all those dark twists and turns are to the plot. Yet, when Amazon Studios set to make a six-part series adapting the book, they didn’t quite keep to the plot of B. E. Jones’ bestseller. Before you get too worried, Jones herself is happy with the final result.
(Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the actual details of the changes, so no spoilers ahead.)
After Liv finds out that her husband Will has had an affair, they go on an American road trip, only to be met at their location by the mistress and her boyfriend. Much of the beginning of the novel is intact for the series adaptation, aside from a few name changes for key characters. It’s toward the end, especially just after the first big twist, that the plot begins to majorly divert.
In a February 2023 interview with author B.E. (Bev) Jones, she was already aware of the changes made to the film and gives what she’s seen of the series a stellar review. She told Nation CYMRU, “I got a sneaky-peek before Christmas and I was so blown away that I burst into tears in the edit suite. It’s been quite the journey you know.”
Clearly she loved how the series turned out, but that doesn’t mean she’d be okay with all changes to her work. The Welsh author was adamant that the main characters retain their Welsh histories and dialects:
“I was worried that they’d try to change her but they were very keen to keep the Welshness, so she is still very much a Welsh girl at heart – and Jenna’s got a really good Welsh accent too, I must say.”
B. E. Jones, Nation CYMRU
In a recent interview with RadioTimes.com, show creator Marnie Dickens admits that the show “takes quite a big detour from the book.” Luckily she got the go-ahead from the author for how it diverts. Dickens says:
“Bev’s been very supportive of us doing what you need to do with an adaptation, which is working out what works and then building out from that. The central premise of the ‘young British couple going on this road trip to try and patch up their relationship but she’s got ulterior motives’ is very much there.”
Now knowing that the author is still happy with this adaptation despite changes to the original novel, it may make most dissenters feel okay about the changes as well. After all, if Jones is cool with it, so shouldn’t we be? In the end, it’s up to every reader/viewer.
To check out the changes or if you just love a good twisty revenge-laden thriller, watch Wilderness on Amazon Prime.
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