This week, a bunch of books took their first big steps toward the screen. Here’s a roundup of the teasers and trailers that dropped this week.

‘High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam’

Joel Kinnaman stars as real-life analyst John Nixon, the first CIA officer to interrogate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (Waleed Zuaiter), in the trailer for “High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam.” TNT released the trailer for the limited series Wednesday, showing as Nixon helps U.S. forces find and capture Hussein and then question him. 

“As Nixon seeks answers from the former Iraqi leader in his search for weapons of mass destruction, he is forced to confront the far-reaching consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the ramifications that would reverberate around the world for decades to come,” a synopsis of the series reads. 

The series is inspired by Nixon’s memoir “Debriefing the President.” Also starring Lena Gora, Rebecca Night, Tom Berenger, Paul Ryan, Christopher McDonald, Dar Salim, Matt Barr, Ewan Miller and Talia Balsam, the series is set to premiere Sept. 13. Creators Daniel Stiepleman and Jonathan Wakeman co-write the script alongside Leslie Greif and Graham Sack.

‘Ramayana’

Sony Pictures on Wednesday released a full trailer for what’s expected to be Bollywood’s biggest release of the year—“Ramayana.” Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, the film is an adaptation of the ancient epic poem about Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The film is expected to hit theaters near the holiday of Diwali, on Nov. 6.

About the writer

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations, film and TV development.