Looks like we're officially transporting right back to Platform 9 3/4.
After years of rumors that a "Harry Potter" television series would be coming to HBO Max, the channel's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is looking to close the deal to bring all the magic to the small screen, according to Bloomberg, who was the first to report the news.
The project will reportedly be based on J.K. Rowling's seven-part book series, with Deadline reporting that the controversial author also in talks to join the series as a producer.
As for who'll step in to the fill roles made famous by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson in the beloved film adaptations? That has yet to be seen, as Deadline noted the series scope is expected to expand once Rowling signs on the dotted line.
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The most recent development that has fans waving their wands in the air comes just four months after HBO Max's head of originals, Sarah Aubrey, initially shared that the streaming service "didn't have a series in active development right now."
However, it's worth noting Aubrey didn't completely rule out any "Harry Potter" content for the coming future.
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"There's nothing like a Harry Potter fan," she told Variety in November 2022. "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."
In the decade since the "Harry Potter" films concluded in 2011, Rowling's wizarding world has expanded, most notably with the Fantastic Beasts films set following Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore. Plus, there's a successful stage play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," following the series' original group of wizards and their kids.
And a slew of non-scripted projects have also derived from the books, including TBS' 2021 quiz show, "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses" and the "Harry Potter" 20th anniversary special in January 2022. The HBO Max original saw a reunion between several of the films' stars including Radcliffe, Grint and Watson, as well as Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton, among others.
So, it's no surprise that when Warner Bros. TV CEO Channing Dungey also spoke to Variety later that month, she revealed that they were "engaged in a number of different conversations" when it came to the TV series, adding, "We're just trying to figure out what the right next step is."
