During Friday morning’s earnings call, CEO David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery revealed that the company is progressing with the Harry Potter series, which was initially announced last year, subsequent to a recent meeting with author J.K. Rowling to deliberate on the project.
“We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter,” Zaslav expressed during the call. “The last film was made more than a dozen years ago. I was in London a few weeks ago with [HBO and Max boss] Casey [Bloys] and [WBD TV executive] Channing [Dungrey] and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise.”
Zaslav further confirmed the anticipated launch date for the new Harry Potter: “Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max. We’re aiming for a debut in 2026.”
While Zaslav mentioned “new stories,” previous reports suggested that the series would entail a fresh adaptation of Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books, rather than an original narrative within the Wizarding World universe. Despite his accurate acknowledgment of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, there have been three Fantastic Beasts prequel films since, supervised by Rowling and set in the Wizarding World.