JK Rowling is no stranger to controversy online — but now it seems the future of Harry Potter hinges on her.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said he is waiting on Rowling to make more movies.
“Why? The HP movies were great! Don’t spoil it, it’s just a money making scheme. The main actors are now adults or have sadly passed away. Mini series become tedious and far fetched. Don’t do it… remakes very rarely work,” one fan wrote.
“They tried this, made a movie trilogy of Fantastic Beasts that bombed significantly. JK had full creative freedom she can’t write for movies, get her off the franchise completely, and then maybe you will have a chance,” offered another.
“I think it would be good. Give some younger ones a chance to be the lead characters, maybe explain plots a bit better and in-depth, and a chance to deepen some of the characters,” said a third.
Scroll on to find out more…
Now, of course, we all know J.K Rowling is the woman behind the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
What started out as a mere musing while stuck on a delayed train in London, 1990, led to a young Joanne Rowling conjuring up the magical story of Harry Potter.
It’s become a huge success.
Thirty years since it’s creation, over 500 million copies of the book franchise have been sold worldwide in eighty different languages.
Making it one of the best-selling book series of all time.
Rowling famously struggled with marriage and money issues in the 4 years she spent working on the first Harry Potter book. In 1994, she found herself as a newly-divorced single mom living out of her sister’s spare room in the Scottish city of Edinburgh.
And, unbelievably, her idea was turned down by several different publishers…
Who reportedly found the idea to be “too long-winded for children.”
Even her literary agent allegedly warned her, “You do realize, you will never make a fortune out of writing children’s books?”
But, regardless of her personal struggles, she continued working on her vision, frequently taking to small coffee shops across Edinburgh to complete her debut book.
And out it came …
500 copies of the debut Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone finally hit the shelves in bookstores across the United Kingdom.
The book was an instant success.
The adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were quick to capture a vast and loyal fanbase, with children and adults alike being instantly captivated by the novel.
And, in the years following from The Philosopher’s Stone…
Rowling went on to release 6 more books that detailed Harry’s fight against the notorious Lord Voldemort, which only made her unique take on the fantasy world of magic even more known and loved across the world.
We became Harry Potter obsessed.
So, of course, it didn’t take long for the movie adaptations to come along.
The final chapter of the Harry Potter franchise, The Deathly Hallows, was released back in 2007…
And fans were finally able to discover the fate of Harry Potter and the rest of the wizarding community.
Something which Rowling has claimed she knew from the very beginning.
Including the collaboration on the 2-part play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the hugely successful blockbuster, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
But in recent years, many have deemed the author to be extremely problematic.
Rowling cause huge controversy on Twitter after she penned what many perceived as a transphobic commentary.
Even former Harry Potter actors such as Rupert Grint chimed in and stood against what Rowling had said…
Backing both Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, Grint said he fully supports the Trans community.
Writing: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men.”
Earlier this year the Harry Potter reunion called Return to Hogwarts, saw Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and a host of other cast members come together on the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
However, there was one particular person missing from the show…
But Rowling revealed the real reason…
“I was asked to be on that and I decided I didn’t want to do it. It was about the films more than the books,” she said.
“Quite rightly, that was what the anniversary was about. I was asked to do it and I decided not to,” Rowling claimed.
And as for the future of the franchise?
Well, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zasla has opened up about it…
“We’re going to focus on franchises,” he said.
“We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of the profits for Warner Bros. … over the past 25 years.
“If we can do something with J.K. on Harry Potter going forward,” Zasla said.
What do you think?