Although the Fantastic Beasts franchise was considered a disappointment for many, the clamor for new Harry Potter content has still been sky-high, and a new update teased a promising future for the Wizarding World.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 put an end to the adventures of Daniel Radcliffe's titular wizard and his friends by finally defeating Voldemort, but it's clear that there are more stories to tell.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child offered a brand-new story that reunited the franchise's main trio, but Warner Bros. has yet to make it in live-action. Despite that, it was reported that the higher-ups of Warner Bros. Discovery are planning to "go hard" after a movie adaptation.
Now, plans for the Wizarding World's small-screen expansion were unveiled.
Warner Bros. TV Sets Sights on Harry Potter Series
Speaking with Variety, Warner Bros. TV CEO Channing Dungey shared plans to expand the Wizarding World franchise on the small screen.
Dungey confirmed that there is a “tremendous amount of ambition” for a Harry Potter TV series while also revealing that the company is nearing a deal with Amazon for animated DC content.
Following the success of the Harry Potter reunion and the competition show Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, Dungey shared that they are "engaged in a number of different conversations" about the said expansion.
Although nothing is imminent yet, the Warner Bros. TV CEO reiterated that "there is a lot of interest and a lot of passion" for the franchise:
“I wish I could tell you that something was on imminent on the horizon but there is a lot of interest and a lot of passion for it, so absolutely. What’s great is that you see how the audience is so engaged and so ready. Our unscripted team did a fantastic ‘Return to Hogwarts’ special for HBO last year, that resonated so tremendously, then we did a quiz show, ‘The Tournament of Houses,’ that Helen Mirren was the host for. The audience is ready, they want to go, so we’re just to figure out what the right next step is.”
In a previous interview 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, saying that they are "very much in the business of creating new content" for fans and "thinking of what to do next."
Still, 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.”
What Could the Harry Potter Show Be About?
It seems that more Harry Potter content could soon arrive as Warner Bros. Discovery plans for its small-screen expansion. Although nothing is set in stone (yet), fans' clamor combined with the franchise's potential is the key ingredient for its bright future.
Given that the Fantastic Beasts movies already explored the past events set before the time of Harry Potter's adventure in the Wizarding World, it's possible that the TV series could feature the future events that will ultimately lead to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The Harry Potter TV series may end up focusing on the events that followed Deathly Hallows Part 2, leading to the epilogue of the main trio parting ways with their sons and daughters on Platform 3/4 in the future. However, the challenge here is whether Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are all down to return, especially considering that they are the backbone of the franchise.
On the flip side, the TV series could explore other aspects of the world that are not tied to Harry Potter, with it potentially expanding the Wizarding World like never before. It could focus on the origins of Hogwarts or fast forward to the future with brand-new characters.
Whatever the case, the future is bright for the Wizarding World franchise.
