More Harry Potter Movies On The Way?
Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav expressed an extreme desire to produce more Harry Potter films, so long as JK Rowling gives the company her blessing.
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The CEO of Warner Bros. has expressed interest in producing more Harry Potter movies. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is seeking franchises to expand upon from within their properties. Harry Potter is a fictional universe that is already full of fertile ground creatively.
David Zaslav has been the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery as of the April 2022 merger between AT&T/Warner Bros. and The Discovery Channel, a deal he helped bring about. Since then, the studio has gone through a lot of changes, including naming James Gunn and Peter Safran co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios. In an investor call on Thursday, Zaslav made it clear that Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Superman are three properties that the entertainment giant could consider exploiting for more ticket sales.
However, it was the Wizarding World that was most emphasized by the executive, including his interest in working further with Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Rowling published the Harry Potter novels between 1997 and 2007, as well as the spin-off series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She has also published the Cormoran Strike novels under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
Zaslav’s enthusiasm for working with JK Rowling also dispels rumors of a split between the studio and the author. Rowling declined to participate in HBO’s Harry Potter reunion special, which dropped on January 1, 2022, and was also not listed in the credits for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The Fantastic Beasts series has also not performed as well at the box office as anticipated, which calls into question plans to make two more movies to complete the story.
However, the eight Harry Potter films based on the original series generated $7.7 billion in revenue during their releases from 2001-2011. They also made stars of its young actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton. This is the success Warner Bros. would like to repeat if JK Rowling is agreeable to it.
The author is also considered controversial because of her views about women, sex, and gender, which activists label transphobic. Some have called for boycotts of her work and the removal of her name and profit from the Harry Potter franchise and adjacent properties such as the real-life game of Quidditch, a sport from the Wizarding World. Rowling has received death threats on social media from some activists, as well as public criticism from Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint, among other celebrities.
However, the Harry Potter series is a beloved tale, and the world the young wizard lives in is ripe with potential. JK Rowling is the muse of the Wizarding World and Warner Bros. is very adamant about their desire to tell more stories she may have for audiences. There has even been interest in a movie version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, including from Chris Columbus, director of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone.
Without a Time Turner, fans will have to wait and see what happens between Warner Bros. and JK Rowling. The two creative giants seem open to working with one another, which means we Muggles may get to visit the world of Harry Potter again, sooner than we can say “Expelliarmus!“
