Warner Bros.’ new CEO David Zaslav reportedly has plans to meet with Harry Potter creator JK Rowling to discuss the beloved franchise. Much has changed since the final installment of the eight-film series was released, with the IP’s spinoff franchise, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, simply not reaching the same heights as the Potter films did. Add to this the isolating stances Rowling has taken in recent years, and its clear something needs to change.
Of course, Harry Potter fans are a patient group, having learned quite early on that Rowling did not plan to write any more books in the bestselling series. As a result, fans transferred their collective enthusiasm to the arrival of Fantastic Beasts, as well as other spinoff projects such as the Potter stage production (which wasn’t written by Rowling) and the upcoming open world video game Hogwarts Legacy. Yet as exciting as these things are, all of them leave out further adventures for Harry, Ron and Hermione. The more recent news that HBO Max is possibly developing a Harry Potter TV show offers some promise for discovering more of the franchise’s apparent limitlessness, but still the idea of more Potter films continues to haunt fans.
Though it’s still far too early to say exactly what could come of it, the newly appointed CEO of Warner Bros., David Zaslav, apparently has plans for Harry Potter. As The Wall Street Journal reports, Zaslav plans to meet with Rowling in the coming weeks. What is known about this very interesting meeting is that Zaslav is eager to make Potter-related content for HBO Max and has clearly decided to go straight to the source. As the WSJ states:
At the same time, Mr. Zaslav is looking to make fresh “Harry Potter”-related content for HBO Max—Warner Bros. made all the wizarding franchise’s movies—people familiar with his thinking said, and plans to meet with creator J.K. Rowling in the coming weeks to discuss the matter.
The possibility of Rowling’s direct involvement in a Harry Potter project at HBO Max is not unexpected, but will no doubt inspire some varied responses. That being said, these are still very early days and confirmation of the meeting between Rowling and Zaslav has yet to actually emerge. If Rowling were willing to even write something Harry Potter-related, Warner Bros. will likely be pleased with the franchise's future. That could very well be a possibility, but whether or not it is likely is anyone’s guess. The biggest takeaway from all this, then, is that Warner Bros.' new CEO is interested in the Potter franchise, and that in itself is promising. With the Fantastic Beasts franchise on the rocks, it's no wonder that WB is looking for other options. This could also signal that there isn't much of a future for that prequel series.
One valid point of criticism in all this remains that rather than put the effort into making a Harry Potter-related TV series, Rowling could put that energy into writing a new book. For someone who isn’t interested in continuing to tell Harry’s story, Rowling has certainly not hesitated to explore every other avenue of the wizarding world. With her public persona currently facing some very real challenges, Rowling might do well to get back to role that made her one of the most famous authors of all time – writing Harry Potter books.
Source: The Wall Street Journal