The Harry Potter TV series has been officially confirmed.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced the magical news while unveiling Max, a rebranded version of streaming service, HBO Max, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The live-action series will be based on all seven of JK Rowling’s books, published between 1997 and 2007.
A statement from Max detailed how it will become a “decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for.
“The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much-loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years,” the statement went on.
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
No cast details have been revealed yet.
Rowling has also been revealed as an executive producer of the series, with reports David Heyman – who executive-produced all eight of the Harry Potter films – is also in talks to return.
Rowling’s involvement may come as a surprise to some, given her absence from the televised Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion in 2022.
The special feature brought together original cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, while the author stayed away amid backlash over her remarks on transgender issues.
However, HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros, has maintained its relationship with Rowling, signing numerous deals including the Harry Potter spin-off franchise, Fantastic Beasts.
“Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series,” Rowling said in a statement on Wednesday.
The idea has the support of at least one of the franchise’s original film stars: just a couple of months ago, Rupert Grint – best known as Ron Weasley – said he’d “love” to see Harry Potter brought back to life as “a TV show”.
“I think it would really work,” he told GQ magazine UK in January.
The latest wizarding world update follows news earlier this year that Warner Bros. Studios is also currently developing the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show – which premiered in 2016 in London’s West End and has also been in Melbourne since 2019 – into a new franchise.
“Warner Bros are currently looking at how to bring The Cursed Child to the big screen,” a source told The Sun. “It has been in their sights since the play proved to be so popular in the West End.
“It went onto the back burner for a while because there was so much work going on with the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
“A line has been temporarily drawn on that for now, especially given its lacklustre performance, so it’s full steam ahead when it comes to developing The Cursed Child.
“At the moment it is in very formative stages and they are discussing the next steps to move it forward. The dream would be to have major stars returning, including Daniel Radcliffe, but that is still incredibly far off.
“Everyone who works within the Harry world wants Daniel to be back, but first they have to iron out the plan for how many films it will be, a reworked script and budgets.
“The hope at the moment is that The Cursed Child could be made into two films – both which would pack as much punch, if not more, than the stage show.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play based on an original story written by Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling.
The story takes place almost two decades after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and focuses on Harry’s son Albus Severus Potter, who is starting his first year at Hogwarts.
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