The Fantastic Beasts franchise has had a rocky time of it, but there’s no doubt that Warner Bros. intends to keep on expanding the Wizarding World. And maybe the best way to do that would be to return to the Boy Who Lived himself.
In January, it was reported that the studio was developing a Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max and it’s long been thought that a movie adaptation of The Cursed Child stage play could happen, too. Both of these, and likely plenty more spinoffs, were teased to be on the way this week by WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecommunications Conference this Thursday, Kilar heavily hinted that the studio is busy working with creator J.K. Rowling to find fresh ways to tap into the HP well, saying:
“There’s this little thing called Harry Potter, which is one of the most beloved franchises. And we’re incredibly thankful to be able to partner with J.K. Rowling and so I would argue there’s a lot of fun and potential there as well,” Kilar said.
While writing up this news, The Hollywood Reporter dropped another major bombshell, as the trade confirmed that their own intel points to WB working on a Cursed Child film, which We Got This Covered first told you a few years back. The theater production, penned by Rowling and Enola Holmes‘ Jack Thorne, follows on from the 17-years-later prologue of The Deathly Hallows and explores Albus Severus Potter’s time at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, now adults, also feature prominently.
There’s been talk before of Daniel Radcliffe coming back to play Harry, something the actor hasn’t ruled out, while Rupert Grint would be open to reprising Ron. Emma Watson’s apparently on a hiatus from acting for the moment, though, so that maybe puts the brakes on the idea of her returning as Hermione.
Still, all the signs are pointing to WB fully intending to branch out the Harry Potter universe in multiple directions. A TV show seems to be a cert at this point, and a Cursed Child flick is looking more and more plausible. Accio a lot more cash for Warner Bros.!
