A New Harry Potter Sequel On The Way?
David Zaslav is reportedly considering Warner Bros making a new Harry Potter movie; quite possibly a film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
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Warner Bros. is considering a ninth installment in the Harry Potter series, based on a hit Broadway play. Fans will recall the gargantuan impact the original 8 films about the Boy Who Lived had on popular culture, grossing over $7 billion worldwide, and turning the titular character into a household name. Now, over a decade after closing the final credits over our favorite wizarding world, Warner Bros. C.E.O. David Zaslav has revealed he is considering bringing the franchise back to the silver screen.
Though there have been new installments in the expanded universe of the Harry Potter intellectual property, in the form of an ill-fated trilogy of Fantastic Beasts films, none of those movies achieved the occult status or fan reception of the original series. This is without even diving into the media circus surrounding Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial, which saw Depp removed from his leading role in the series and largely overshadowed the release of the final film entirely.
According to a source at Puck, Zaslav has expressed interest in reigning in the IP, and bringing back fan favorite characters from the original series as adults; perhaps shooting a two-film adaptation of the hit five hour stage play Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. The story is an original one adapted from Rowling’s source material–written by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany– which stars the children of our original trio of sorcerer students. The Cursed Child also gives us a glimpse into the lives of the adult versions of our beloved characters 19 years after the original series concluded.
Despite all the discourse surrounding a new Harry Potter film at Warner Bros, there are currently no films or television series for the IP in active development. This is especially odd considering the brand rakes in millions of dollars every year in continued book sales, merchandising deals, and theme park installments at Universal Studios. However, the halt in production may be caused by JK Rowling’s stranglehold on the trademark and her toxic media firestorm surrounding a series of problematic posts online.
Many investors, actors, and fans find Rowling to be completely radioactive, and will refuse to support any project that wields her name. This may leave Warner Brothers in a stalemate with the Harry Potter author, who is known to be very hands on with new contract deals, even writing her own screenplays for the first two Fantastic Beasts films. However, Zaslav has made note of the fact that WB retains the film rights to the original book series, meaning they have the power to proceed with a reboot of the franchise without Rowling’s active involvement.
Still, rebooting the series with new actors may be seen as a desperate ploy for relevance from the studio, and create backlash when ravenous fans of the original films inevitably aren’t happy with the new casting. For now it seems the studio needs the Harry Potter than she needs them, and that even her extremely harmful views toward gender identity aren’t enough to tank her massive career.
