Variety: Warner Bros. Looks to Close Deal for ‘Harry Potter’ HBO Max Series

Story from Variety:

Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to close a deal to produce a “Harry Potter” television series.

According to Bloomberg, which was first to report news of developing talks, the project would be directly based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, rather than an in-universe spinoff such as the “Fantastic Beasts” films. Each season would reportedly draw from one of the books, suggesting an ongoing franchise that would stretch for years for the studio.

An HBO Max spokesperson declined to comment.

Under the deal, Rowling would maintain a degree of creative involvement with the series, though she would not serve as primary creator or showrunner.

Sources close to the situation suggest that talks between Warner Bros. Discovery and Rowling’s camp remain in a preliminary state. The studio is looking to house the series under its streaming banner HBO Max, soon to be combined with Discovery+ and rebranded under a new name.

Warner Bros. has long pursued a “Harry Potter” television series, with rumblings about the project emerging in January 2021, predating WarnerMedia’s acquisition by Discovery in 2022.

News of the developing deal comes as Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to host an April 12 presentation for investors and the general public. The event will preview the integration of HBO Max and Discovery+ as well as the company’s upcoming slate of streaming content.

Warner Bros. had previously adapted each book in Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series into a blockbuster feature, beginning with “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in 2001 and concluding with “Harry and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” in 2011. The eight films generated more than $7.7 billion at the global box office and popularized the “Potter” brand even further.

Even with the original book and film series having long concluded, the property has remained a dominant cultural force, spawning theme park attractions, the spinoff film series “Fantastic Beasts,” a hit Broadway production in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and the recent hit video game “Hogwarts Legacy.”