According to Bloomberg, Warner Bros. is currently planning to adapt the popular Harry Potter novels into an HBO Max series. The studio is reportedly in the final stages of the negotiations for the major project, with author J.K. Rowling attached to serve as a producer. The potential TV adaptation comes after the Daniel Radcliffe-led blockbuster film franchise ended its run over a decade ago with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two.
Should the deal pushes through, each season of the Harry Potter series is expected to be based on one book in Rowling’s acclaimed book series, which consists of Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows. Warner Bros. is also set to start searching for the right writer for the project once they’ve closed the deal.
Reports about the studio’s plans to make a Harry Potter series for HBO Max have been circulating since 2020. Following the game-changing merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, CEO David Zaslav previously shared his desire to shift the company’s focus back to prioritizing their popular franchise like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
“We’re going to focus on franchises,” Zaslav said. “We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of profits to Warner Bros motion pictures over the last 25 years. House of the Dragon is a big example of that; Game of Thrones, taking advantage of Sex and the City. Lord of the Rings – we still have the right to do Lord of the Rings movies.”
The Harry Potter seven-book series was adapted into eight films that earned over $7 billion at the worldwide box office. Warner Bros. also has the Fantastic Beasts prequel series of films under its belt, with the third installment, currently set to release on April 15, 2022, following up 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
