‘Turtles All the Way Down’ Trailer: John Green Book About Anxiety Gets Max Adaptation

Erin Strecker
·2 min read
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The latest John Green book to get the adaptation treatment is 2017’s “Turtles All the Way Down,” his follow-up to worldwide smash “The Fault in Our Stars.”

“Turtles All the Way Down,” per a press release, “tackles anxiety through its 17-year-old protagonist, Aza Holmes (Isabela Merced).” It continues, “It’s not easy being Aza, but she’s trying… trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, and a good student, all while navigating an endless barrage of invasive, obsessive thoughts that she cannot control. When she reconnects with Davis, her childhood crush, Aza is confronted with fundamental questions about her potential for love, happiness, friendship, and hope.”

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Interestingly, this description doesn’t mention a key aspect of the book — a hunt for a reclusive billionaire — so time will tell how much the film adaptation plays with the source material. The YA book drew praise upon release for its frank depiction of living with mental illness as a young person, particularly anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. “While the story is fictional, it is also quite personal,” John Green, who will serve as an executive producer on the movie, wrote in a press release for the book back in 2017.

“Turtles All the Way Down” is directed by Hannah Marks and written by executive producers Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker. Besides Merced, the cast includes Cree, Felix Mallard, Maliq Johnson, Poorna Jagannathan, Judy Reyes, and J. Smith-Cameron.

“Stars” was turned into a 2014 movie starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Other Green projects adapted include the movie “Paper Towns,” starring Cara Delevingne, as well as a Hulu miniseries version of Green’s first novel, “Looking for Alaska,” among others. For those keeping track, that means the only solo Green novel without an adaptation is “An Abundance of Katherines.”

“Turtles All the Way Down” is Green’s most recent novel. Besides his ongoing activism work, he also published a (very good and moving) collection of essays, “The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet,” in 2021.

Watch the trailer for “Turtles All the Way Down” below. The film will stream on Max on May 2.

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