The Harry Potter franchise has been slowing down in the past years, but a new update from HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey could give hope for the franchise's future on the small screen.
2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the last mainline movie from the franchise, putting an end to the big-screen adventures of Daniel Radcliffe's titular wizard. Multiple spin-off movies under the Fantastic Beasts umbrella have been released, but disappointing box office returns could be the culprit as to why they will not continue.
Looking ahead, it seems that Warner Bros. will look to revive the Harry Potter franchise in a major way, especially after recently sparking interest in reuniting with JK Rowling to create more content in the Wizarding World.
Although Variety shared that no big-screen Wizarding World projects are in active development, a new promising update for Harry Potter fans has emerged.
Will Harry Potter Get Its Own HBO Max Show?
Speaking with Variety, HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey teased the possibility of developing a TV show set in the world of the Harry Potter franchise.
On conversations about the future of Warner Bros. IP like Harry Potter, Aubrey shared that they are "very much in the business of creating new content" for fans and "thinking of what to do next."
All of this boiled down to the fact that Aubrey noticed that fans are "clamoring for more storytelling:"
“There’s nothing like a ‘Harry Potter’ fan, in terms of their endless appetite for storytelling and new ways of interacting with these characters. So whether it’s the reunion or live events or games, we’re very much in the business of creating new content for those fans and thinking what to do next. We don’t have a series in active development right now. But we are very much in that business, because fans are just clamoring for more storytelling.”
The fact that this comment was straight from HBO Max's boss indicates that a series from the streaming service could be in the works.
During the studio's earning calls, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that they have a "real focus on franchises," citing the fact that they "haven't done a Harry Potter movie in 15 years:"
“We’re going to have a real focus on franchises. We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter movie in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of profits for Warner Bros. Motion Pictures over the last 25 years. One of the big advantages that we have, House of the Dragon, is an example of that with Game of Thrones. Taking advantage of Sex and the City. Lord of the Rings, we still have the rights to do Lord of the Rings movies."
Zaslav also suggested the potential to "do something with JK [Rowling] on Harry Potter going forward:"
"And we have a lot of them: Batman, Superman, Aquaman, if we can do something with JK [Rowling] on Harry Potter going forward. Lord of the Rings. What are we doing with Game of Thrones? What are we doing with a lot of the big franchises that we have? We’re focused on franchises."
Which Time Period will Harry Potter's TV Series Explore?
The latest comments of HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey mean that the studio is interested in further exploring the Wizarding World on the small screen instead of the big screen.
The Harry Potter franchise is filled with interesting time periods and characters to explore, meaning that many story opportunities will rise for a potential TV series. The possibilities are endless, from a prequel series exploring the origin of Hogwarts to focusing on Harry Potter's parents.
Given that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is addressing the franchise as "Harry Potter" instead of the Wizarding World, his wording seems to suggest that he wants to continue the titular wizard's story beyond Deathly Hallows.
While a movie would be fitting to bring back Harry, Ron, and Hermione, it looks like a limited series that would better flesh out the characters with longer runtimes could be made before eventually branching out to the big screen.
Nothing is set in stone at this stage, but it's safe to assume that Harry Potter's story is far from over.
