It’s been reported for quite some time that HBO Max has had plans for the Harry Potter franchise. Now it’s once again being reported that a Harry Potter series is in the works at HBO Max – though it’s not exactly what you’d expect. It looks like the television series will exist as an all-new adaptation of the classic book series.
As reported via Bloomberg, the Harry Potter series would adapt one book of Rowling’s seven Harry Potter novels for each season. Presumably, this would allow the television series to more closely adapt the storylines from the classic books. And, as a result, it’s expected that other spin-offs like Fantastic Beasts would be ignored for this project.
Of course, by adapting one book a year for each season, this project would take at least seven years to complete. It’d be quite the endeavor for Warner Bros. Though it looks like J.K. Rowling could be involved with getting the job done. The controversial author is said to be in preliminary talks to join the Harry Potter HBO Max series as a producer. Furthermore, she would have some level of creative involvement, though not as the showrunner or primary creator.
The next step, assuming Rowling signs on, would be the search for a writer. It’s clear that HBO Max is eager to get this project off the ground. Though that’s not surprising considering how successful the original Harry Potter film franchise was for Warner Bros Discovery.
The original series of eight Harry Potter films made more than $7.7 billion at the global box office. The franchise was a massive success for many years until controversies between J.K. Rowling and the Fantastic Beasts franchise arose. It’s clear that Warner Bros wants to find a way to make the franchise lucrative yet again. Thus the decision to go back to basics and adapt the iconic books once again. And, after the success of shows like Game of Thrones, it’s possible that it could work out for them.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional Harry Potter updates as we have them.