'Harry Potter' Franchise to Be Rebooted as HBO TV Show, Report Says
Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly close to making a deal to bring the Harry Potter franchise to HBO as a television series. Do not expect the series to tell a new story though, as the proposed project will adapt J.K. Rowling's original seven novels all over again. The books were previously adapted into eight movies released between 2001 and 2011, with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson starring in all of them.
The new series will adapt one book per season, according to a person who spoke with Bloomberg anonymously because the deal has not been announced. Warner Bros. Discovery will reportedly announce the project next week. WBD CEO David Zaslav and HBO chief Casey Bloys have tried to convince Rowling to give her blessing to the idea.
The deal has not been completed and Warner Bros. has not commented. Rowling will reportedly be involved just to make sure the scripts are loyal to the novels. However, she will not serve as showrunner or primary creator, the person said, due to her controversial comments. Rowling continues to anger many with transphobic comments, that even members of the original Harry Potter film have publicly spoken out against. Rowling also only appeared in HBO Max's 2022 special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts through archival footage.
The new series could be the cornerstone of WBD's new streaming strategy. The company plans to rename HBO Max to just "Max," and focus more on original content with characters and stories viewers are already familiar with. That strategy includes working on the new Potter series, creating more Lord of the Rings content, and utilizing the DC Comics character roster.
Warner Bros. produced the original Harry Potter film franchise. The only book that was split into two parts was the final one, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A television series could take a deeper dive into the books, especially the later longer ones, but the movies are still beloved by Harry Potter fans. They were so perfectly cast that it's hard to imagine anyone but Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, and the other stars playing these characters.
However, it's easy to see why WBD would rather gamble on a Wizarding World series with Harry, Ron, and Hermione than one focused on different characters. The spin-off prequel series, Fantastic Beasts, has been a financial disappointment. Although the first film grossed over $814 million worldwide in 2016, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) saw diminishing returns. The Secrets of Dumbledore is the lowest-grossing Wizarding World film, with $407 million worldwide. The franchise was supposed to include two more movies, but it was reported in November 2022 that WBD was no longer actively developing a fourth Fantastic Beasts movie.
The Harry Potter books are still big sellers around the world, selling over 600 million copies in 85 languages over 25 years, according to Scholastic Corp. The eight movies based on the series grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide. The stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has also been a hit in London and New York, while the recently released Hogwarts Legacy role-play game has also been a success.