JK Rowling's The Christmas Pig Getting a Movie Adaptation
The project is in early development and does not yet have a studio attached.
The Christmas Pig, a 2021 children's book by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, is being developed as a film adaptation, according to a new report. According to Variety, who first broke the news, the project is "in a very early stage of development in-house," presumably through Rowling's production company Bronte. There is no studio attached at this point -- although given her long relationship with HBO and Warner Bros., one assumes that will be Rowling's first stop. Besides various Wizarding World-related projects, Bronte works with Warner Bros. Discovery on the BBC/HBO mystery Cormoran Strike, based on her adult detective series.
The baseline numbers for any Rowling books are fairly high, although obviously nothing she has done since the Harry Potter franchise has reached that level of globel phenomenon. Her kids' books tend to perform better than her books aimed at adult readers.
The Christmas Pig was first published in 2021, with illustrations by Jim Field (The Lion Inside series). Variety notes that, back in 2021, Swift Films made a series of promotional videos for the project -- which could suggest they would help Bronte. If not with the final animation, it's at least pretty easy to imagine Swift being involved with a pitch package to go out to studios.
In spired by twin toy pigs owned by Rowling's son, The Christmas Pig centers on "a boy named Jack, who loses his childhood toy Dur Pig – nicknamed DP – on Christmas Eve after his stepsister throws it out of the family car," according to the Variety report. "Although Jack is offered a replacement called Christmas Pig as consolation, he misses his old faithful friend and casts Christmas Pig (abbreviated to CP) aside."
Rowling is returning to the world of Harry Potter soon enough, with HBO and Max planning a massive, multi-season adaptation of the entire book series. Excitement for the series has been tempered by worries that it won't be as good as the originals, or that J.K. Rowling's controversial offscreen antics will harm it. Deadlines are deadlines, though, and it appears things are moving forward now.
Big plans for the Fantastic Beasts franchise would have kept Harry and his friends off screen for long enough that most of the kids who grew up with the 2000s movies would have aged out of the 18-35 demographic by the time a reboot came along. Instead, it's back to the beginning, since the Fantastic Beasts franchise appears to be dead in the water.
Generally, franchise fatigue and Rowling's personal controversies haven't hurt main-line Harry Potter much. Obviously, the books continue to sell well and video games and other merchandise have proven extremely successful. The difference here is that the movies themselves (and the actors who played the leads) are so beloved.
J.K. Rowling is set to executive produce and help oversee the series, which WBD says will land on the streamer in 2026.