It would seem the Fantastic Beasts films just aren’t cutting it for David Zaslav and the folks at Warner Bros. Studios. The Wizarding World, as it’s now officially called by fans and creatives, has been a staple franchise for Warner Bros. since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 2001. Throughout eight movies, adapting seven books, Daniel Radcliffe‘s iconic young protagonist became a cornerstone of pop culture. As such, when the original series of films ended with 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, it felt less like a matter of “will the character return?” and more like a matter of “when?”. Sure enough, over a decade later, Warner Bros. wants to take a stab at reviving the Potter brand.
According to a new report from Puck News, Warner Bros. CEO and President Zaslav is looking into developing a feature film project based on Jack Thorne‘s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The legacy sequel, billed as “the eighth story in the Harry Potter series,” was originally crafted as a stage show for London’s West End and Broadway in New York City, and focuses on an adventure between an adult Potter and his youngest son, Albus Severus. Franchise creator J.K. Rowling came up with the story, and Thorne wrote the script. It debuted to the public as a two-part play in 2016, receiving widespread critical acclaim but flopping hard with the Harry Potter fandom. Since then, the production has been shortened and restaged as a single show in the United States.
Rumors have swirled for years that Warner Bros. would eventually make a Cursed Child project with the original series’ cast returning to their roles. Puck claims that, with the recent financial failures of the Fantastic Beasts movies, Zaslav would like to bring back the Potter name and finally make that happen. The report states that former Warner Bros. Chairman Toby Emmerich also wanted to adapt Cursed Child as a two-film event, but was never able to get the idea off the ground. Whether or not the company’s latest regime can create its own magic is still very much up in the air, considering they will first need the approval of a former cast and current creator who have all voiced their resistance to a Cursed Child project in the past.
Source: Puck
