A major part of the HBO Max business model seems to be spinning off Warner Bros’ biggest properties into must-see small-screen streaming series. Right now, James Gunn is hard at work on The Suicide Squad sister-show Peacemaker, while Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman movie will coincide with a Gotham PD series. And now, early reports indicate that plans are afoot to take one of the biggest properties under the Warner Bros umbrella and explore it through an HBO Max series: the Wizarding World.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, discussions are being had about a live-action show set in the world of Harry Potter, with meetings being taken to sound out writers for ideas of how the Wizarding World might translate onto the small screen. By all accounts, this is all in very early stages – and HBO Max and Warner Bros have responded to THR’s report by stating: “There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform.”
The reports, however, do come hot on the heels of the news that Warner Bros. has appointed Tom Ascheim to oversee the Harry Potter and Wizarding World franchise, with Variety stating that he has been “tasked with expanding the Wizarding World property for the studio’s various outlets and platform partners”. If those plans aren’t up for discussion yet, that mention of “various outlets” certainly hints at HBO Max as a home for something related to the Potter franchise.
What’s the potential for a Wizarding World show, then? There’s plenty – while there have been no concrete reports about adapting canonical stage show Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, could that possibly form the basis for a series rather than a feature film? Otherwise, there are centuries of Hogwarts history that could provide an entertaining basis for a show, removed from the central Potter era but taking place in the familiar stone walls that fans know and love – just look at Hogwarts Legacy, the upcoming video game due in 2022, which casts players as a student at the magical school in the late 1800s.
For the moment, Fantastic Beasts 3 remains in production, with Mads Mikkelsen taking over from Johnny Depp in the role of villainous wizard Grindelwald. The film’s title hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it’s currently expected to hit screens in July 2022. According to JK Rowling’s plan for the Fantastic Beasts series, two more films will follow the threequel. However, given the disappointing box office takings of The Crimes Of Grindelwald and Rowling’s controversial comments about gender identity and the trans community in recent months, whether the series can bring back lapsed audiences and long-term fans who feel let down by Rowling's remarks remains to be seen.