Is A New Harry Potter Movie Trilogy Coming?

03/18/2017 09:17 am EDT

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise could be the gift that keeps on giving and a film adaptation of the Cursed Child stage play might be inevitable.

Rumors started by theme park historian and journalist Jim Hill indicate a new contract from Warner Bros. grants to NBCUniversal the television rights for the main series of films, the new trilogy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them films, as well as a potential, unannounced trilogy of movies based on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

"[If] you drill down into the language of the deal, they also have – when they're finally made – the trilogy of movies that will be based on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," Hill said on the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast (via ScreenRant).

In discussing Rowling's various franchises in the world of Hogwarts, Hill indicated that a new trilogy of films would be in development as the Fantastic Beasts series wraps up in 2024 and that they want to rely on the trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint to carry the franchise once again.

"[Warner Bros.] want this to be, for lack of a better term, Harry Potter: The Force Awakens. They want this trilogy of movies to have the actors that we know and love from the original films, that we watched grow up, as adults. And, of course, they're hiring a bunch of new, younger actors to play their children with the hope that, 'If we can lean on J.K. [Rowling], maybe there'll be The Cursed Adolescent.'"

Rumors of new installments to the Harry Potter franchise have been cropping up even before the initial series ended and are only reinforced with every contribution Rowling makes, whether it be a new short story added to the Pottermore website, the release of the Fantastic Beasts script, or the Cursed Child stage play.

These rumors are supported by a report from the New York Daily News that Warner Bros. courted Radcliffe to return as the titular character in the adaptation. But while Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the only true direct sequel to the main franchise, Rowling seemed adamant that the story belonged on the stage. Warner Bros. have backed up that stance, as reported by Latino Review, when they denied a film adaptation was in the works.

Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint have all transitioned to successful careers beyond the world of Harry Potter, but as the actors get older they are primed to resume the roles of the characters that made them famous in the Cursed Child. Could we see them kick off a new franchise in the wizarding world?

As with everything in Hollywood, once the rumor mill starts churning it's impossible to get it to stop. Hopefully we'll find out if there's truth to these reports before the decade's over.

MORE: Fantastic Beasts Official Review / Fantasic Beats' Harry Potter Connections / Where the Franchise Goes Next / Fantastic Beasts Timeline / Johnny Depp Rumored to Cameo / There Will be 5 Fantastic Beasts Films / Will we see the Dumbledore/Grindelwald Love Affair? / Who is Newt Scamander?

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