J.K. Rowling is in talks with Warner Bros Discovery to make a new Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max. The future of the Harry Potter franchise has been in question for some time now.
Especially when the Fantastic Beasts film sequels have been cancelled. Even the Wizarding World AR game titled Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has shut down just this January. There are still a few games that still keep the brand alive.
The recent release of Hogwarts Legacy has gained a lot of praise lately, in fact. The theatre play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is ongoing in several locations. Not to mention that they have theme parks and stores that promote the Wizarding World.
What’s lacking is TV and film. Rumours of a TV series have been around for some years now, but nothing has come out of it. However, recently, it seems that Warner Bros. Discovery wants to address that as soon as they can.
Warner Bros Discovery Wants To Reboot Harry Potter
READ MORE: Fantastic Beasts Films Cancelled By Warner Bros
Deadline has recently reported that the Harry Potter author is in talks about producing a new series for HBO Max. At the moment, the project is still in its infancy. Warner Bros will be looking for a writer once JK Rowling agrees to be involved with the show.
Even though Warner Bros. owns the rights to the franchise, JK Rowling has control over what can be done with the brand. So, the new series won’t move forward without her approval.
Based on the report, it seems that Warner Bros is interested in a reboot, with one season per book. Retelling the Harry Potter books could be an interesting angle since it won’t need to shorten or cut story elements that had to be done on film.
Harry Potter is not the only one being rebooted by Warner Bros. Discovery. The most obvious one and most talked about is the DC Universe which is now headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Warner Bros is just finishing off the final few films under DC Films before moving on to the new generation of projects which includes film, TV, animation and video games. The new DC starts with a new Superman film titled Superman: Legacy, to be directed by Gunn himself. Warner Bros is also going back to the Lord of the Rings by making new films.
Do We Really Need A Reboot Of Harry Potter?
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
READ MORE: Daniel Radcliffe Not Interested In A Harry Potter And The Cursed Child Movie
While a new Harry Potter TV series would be interesting to see since fans have always kept note of things that were cut from the book to the films. Adapting a book to a film is, in general, not easy to do as books don’t have any limits, while films do have a limited run time. Filmmakers have to keep it exciting because of pacing, while books can dive deeper into details.
Another interesting aspect here is that J.K. Rowling might want to retell the story as she has written the books from 1998 to 2007. She might have ideas that she has wanted to change since then. Also, this can give audiences a surprise on what to expect.
There was a time that JK Rowling did admit that perhaps it would have been better for Harry to have ended up with Hermione. Even in a separate interview with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, she disclosed that there was a time she even seriously considered making Ron a casualty in the story.
Remaking Harry Potter won’t be easy to get into. The films are still fresh in many people’s minds. The films, especially the original Harry Potter films, were released from 2001 up to 2011. And they still look amazingly well today. It kind of begs us to wonder, do we really need a reboot?
Also, the controversy over JK Rowling’s comments about gender identity hasn’t really faded away. Some have even boycotted the recent Hogwarts Legacy game because of its connection to the author.
Last year Quidditch, a sport that originated from the books which already have a real-life version of it and is played internationally, was renamed as “quadball” by US Quidditch, Major League Quidditch and The International Quidditch Association.
This was done to essentially distance themselves from the works of JK Rowling because of the controversy. Regardless, Harry Potter and the Wizarding World are very important to Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s one of their most popular franchises in their history.
For sure that the company will do what it can to keep the brand going as long as it can. Could they be brewing an alternate reality of the Harry Potter books? Or delivery of the story through the eyes of someone unexpected?
What do you think of Harry Potter being rebooted as a TV series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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I think that its going to be amazing since as HBO have released shows like the Last of us and Game of thrones I think that they will be willing to put alot of money into it and make it a true to the book series they just need to get J.K Rowling on set al the time so she can give ideas on what she wants it to look like as she created the books she can show how it has to be done.