Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Warner Bros keen to make more Harry Potter movies if JK Rowling agrees

Warner Bros are keen to make more Harry Potter movies if they can get the go-ahead from author JK Rowling

(Picture: Warner Bros)

Warner Bros has said it would be keen to make more Harry Potter movies if the studio can get the go-ahead from JK Rowling, who penned the original books on which they were based.

The studio released eight Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011 to huge acclaim. They made stars of previously unknown child actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Tom Felton, and went on to gross $7.7 billion globally.

It partnered with Rowling on the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which has been a case of diminishing returns at the box office. The most recent instalment, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, debuted in April and earned $405.1 million globally.

It is unclear if they will move forward with the two planned films to round out its five-picture slate.

JK Rowling has become a controversial figure in recent years after being accused of transphobia (PA Wire)

Now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, has raised the possibility of returning the studio’s focus to Harry Potter during an investors call on Thursday.

“We’re going to focus on franchises,” the publication reports Mr Zaslav as saying.

“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.”

Adding: “If we can do something with JK on Harry Potter going forward.”

Actor Daniel Radcliffe who rose to fame playing the titular character in the Harry Potter franchise is one of the actors who spoke out against the author (PA Archive)

Rowling has become a controversial figure in recent years, and has been accused of being transphobic.

This has resulted in a number of the stars of the Harry Potter films speaking out against her, including Radcliffe, who voiced support for the trans community in light of tweets and comments the author has made.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.