It is one of the most famous books of the 20th century. If you went to high school in America, you probably had to read it. But the The Things They Carried film history is a messy, complicated, and strangely empty saga for a story that carries so much cultural weight. People have been trying to turn Tim O’Brien’s 1990 classic into a definitive movie for decades. It's tough.
The book isn't a traditional novel. It's a collection of linked short stories. It blurs the line between "story truth" and "happening truth." That makes for a great reading experience but a massive headache for a screenwriter. You can’t just film a guy walking through a jungle and call it The Things They Carried. You have to capture the weight of the items—the pantyhose, the New Testament, the fear—and the way those items transform into ghosts.
What is the status of the new The Things They Carried film?
Honestly, the most recent update that got everyone excited happened back in late 2020. That was when a massive ensemble cast was announced, and it felt like we were finally getting the big-budget adaptation the book deserved. We’re talking about names like Tom Hardy, Tye Sheridan, Stephan James, Bill Skarsgård, Pete Davidson, and Ashton Sanders. Rupert Sanders, the guy who directed Snow White and the Huntsman and the Ghost in the Shell remake, was attached to direct.
Since then? Silence.
The industry moves slow. Sometimes projects just die in development hell. Scott B. Smith, who wrote A Simple Plan, was tasked with the screenplay. The idea was to focus on the young men of Alpha Company. But as of 2026, we are still waiting for a trailer or even a production wrap notice. It’s frustrating. Fans of the book keep checking IMDb, hoping for a "post-production" status that hasn't arrived yet.
Movies about Vietnam are notoriously difficult to fund these days unless they have a massive hook. Studios look at the landscape and see risk. They see a story that is internal and psychological, which is expensive to film if you want it to look authentic. You need the Huey helicopters. You need the mud. You need the specific, oppressive atmosphere of the Southeast Asian jungle.
Why hasn't it happened sooner?
The book is meta-fiction. Tim O'Brien (the character) talks to Tim O'Brien (the author) about writing the book. How do you film that? If you just make a straight war movie, you lose the soul of the prose. You lose the very thing that makes the book special.
🔗 Read more: Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family: What You Didn't Know About Morticia
There have been "sorta" adaptations before. In 1998, there was a movie called A Soldier's Sweetheart starring Kiefer Sutherland. It’s actually based on the chapter "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong." It’s a wild story about a soldier who flies his girlfriend out to Vietnam, and she eventually disappears into the jungle, wearing a necklace of human tongues. It’s effective, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. It isn't the full The Things They Carried film experience people want.
Director Rupert Sanders has spoken about how the book is a "visceral" experience. He’s right. But visceral is hard. You have to balance the heavy equipment—the P-38 can openers and the M-60 machine guns—with the heavy emotional baggage.
The challenge of Alpha Company
The "things" they carried weren't just physical. That’s the core of the book.
- Jimmy Cross carries letters from a girl named Martha.
- Henry Dobbins carries his girlfriend's stockings around his neck.
- Rat Kiley carries comic books.
- Norman Bowker carries the weight of a town that won't listen to him.
In a movie, these things risk looking like props. In the book, they are characters. A director has to find a way to make the audience feel the physical weight of 15 pounds of ammunition plus the psychological weight of killing a man on a trail outside My Khe.
There's also the problem of the "true" war story. O'Brien famously writes that a true war story is never moral. It doesn't instruct. It doesn't encourage virtue. Most Hollywood movies want a "moral." They want a hero's journey. The Things They Carried is the opposite of a hero's journey. It’s a circle. It’s a loop of memory and regret.
Realism vs. Narrative
Some people argue that Platoon or Full Metal Jacket already covered this ground. But they didn't. Those movies are about the "grandeur" or the "horror" in a very cinematic way. O'Brien’s work is more intimate. It’s about the "hum" of the electric light in a tent. It's about the way a body looks like a "dead cereal box."
💡 You might also like: Isaiah Washington Movies and Shows: Why the Star Still Matters
If the The Things They Carried film ever makes it out of the editing room, it has to deal with the fact that the narrator is unreliable. He tells us one thing, then tells us he lied.
"I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth."
That’s a hard line to put into a screenplay without sounding cheesy. You almost need a thinks-out-loud style, similar to how The Thin Red Line used voiceovers, but even that is a polarizing technique.
The Cast: Why it matters
The 2020 cast list was a statement of intent. Tom Hardy brings a specific kind of rugged, brooding energy that fits the veteran vibe. Pete Davidson is an interesting choice—maybe for a character like Rat Kiley, who eventually loses his mind and shoots his own foot? It suggests the film might lean into the surreal, darkly comic elements of the book.
Because war is absurd.
If you make it too serious, you miss the "fun" the soldiers had in their darker moments. If you make it too funny, you've insulted the dead. It’s a tightrope.
📖 Related: Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett: Why Fans Are Still Divided Over the Daimyo of Tatooine
What to do while you wait for the release
Since the The Things They Carried film is still basically a ghost project, the best thing to do is engage with the source material and its existing offshoots.
Don't just re-read the book. Listen to the audiobook narrated by Bryan Cranston. It is, frankly, incredible. He captures the gravelly, weary tone of O'Brien’s voice perfectly. It feels like a movie for your ears.
Check out A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998) if you can find it on streaming. It’s a low-budget affair, but it captures the "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" chapter with surprising loyalty. It shows that O'Brien's surrealism can work on screen if the actors are committed.
Look into the documentary The Draft. It provides the necessary historical context for Alpha Company. Understanding that these men were mostly teenagers who were forced to be there is vital. It’s the difference between a "soldier" and a "drafted boy."
Finally, keep an eye on production trades like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter. In 2026, projects often get "re-packaged." This means the 2020 cast might be gone, and a new director might be stepping in. That's not always a bad thing. Sometimes a fresh start is what a difficult adaptation needs to finally get across the finish line.
Understand that "The Things They Carried" is as much about the act of storytelling as it is about Vietnam. Any film that ignores the "writing" aspect of the book will likely fail the fans. We don't just want to see the war; we want to see how the war stays with you forty years later. We want to see the old man looking at the rain and seeing the field where his friend died. That is the "thing" that is hardest to carry.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Watch "A Soldier's Sweetheart": It's the only direct adaptation of an O'Brien chapter and serves as a proof-of-concept for how his style translates to film.
- Listen to the Bryan Cranston Audiobook: If you want to understand the "voice" the film needs to capture, this is the gold standard.
- Follow Production Updates via Trades: Set a Google Alert for "The Things They Carried film cast" to see if the Hardy/Sheridan project is still alive or if it has been rebooted with a new creative team.