The future of Warner Bros. is at an interesting turning point, following the multimedia company’s merger with Discovery earlier this year. While we’re only a few months into the tenure of Warner Bros. Discovery, a lot has been reported about the company’s decisions, particularly with regards to its CEO and President David Zaslav. A new article from The Wall Street Journal shines a light on Zaslav’s new strategy with regards to WBD’s upcoming films, and it provides an interesting morsel with regards to the future of the Harry Potter franchise. According to the report, Zaslav is looking to make “fresh” content relating to Potter for HBO Max, and reportedly plans to meet with series creator J.K. Rowling in the coming weeks to discuss as much.ย
This nugget of information will probably intrigue fans, especially those who have been eager to see the franchise expand outward or tell additional stories. By and large, the Wizarding World installments released after the Potter films wrapped have consisted of three Fantastic Beasts films, with the recent release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opening to a franchise low of only $43 million at the domestic box office., and the final two films of the series reportedly not set in stone yet.
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While the larger franchise has had some other tie-in elements, including a few pieces of non-scripted programming and an upcoming video game, the overall Potter brand has ebbed and flowed, especially as Rowling has made headlines for a series of anti-trans comments. Still, there’s definitely an interest for what the larger Potter world could have to offer, as evident byย the massive online popularity of the fanfic All the Young Dudes, a fanfic that imagines the origin story of Harry’s parents and mentors.
“We would love to develop more original Harry Potter series, and we regularly talk to JK Rowling and her team,” former Warners CEO Ann Sarnoffย said late last year. “It’s got to be right though. Whatever we do has to be true to the canon, and true to the ethos of the Wizarding World, and who Harry is.”
What do you think of the latest update surrounding Warner Bros.’ plans for the Harry Potter franchise? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
