Did you really expect the Harry Potter movies to end at eight? JK Rowling has just announced that she’s launching another franchise in the world of Harry Potter, and although it won’t feature the scarred wizard, it will be transmedia: films, video games, the works.
The new series is called Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, based on a Harry Potter textbook of the same name. Via Deadline, here’s the press release:
Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an expanded creative partnership with world-renowned, best-selling author J.K. Rowling. At the center of the partnership is a new film series from Rowling’s world of witches and wizards, inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and the adventures of the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander. The announcement was made by Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will be an original story and will mark Rowling’s screenwriting debut. It is planned as the first picture in a new film series. Set in the wizarding world, the story will feature magical creatures and characters, some of which will be familiar to devoted Harry Potter fans.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world,” said Rowling. “The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.”
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In addition to the film series, “Fantastic Beasts” will also be developed across the Studio’s video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses, including enhanced links with Pottermore.com, Rowling’s digital online experience built around the Harry Potter stories.
Is the world really ready for more Harry Potter video games? Well, probably.
Comments
30 responses to “JK Rowling Is Making More Harry Potter, Because Of Course She Is”
Man, I can’t wait for the movies based on The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven)
And the 57 movies based on “Hogwarts: A History” should be alright as well.
That’s actually a good idea. More Potter was inevitable, so at least Rowling is involved and they’re expanding an aspect of the universe which should be pretty cool to watch.
Isn’t being the richest woman in the U.K. enough for her?Surely artistic integrity is worth more than more money she will never spend.
And you know Warner Bros. are gonna pimp it hard and make as many movies out of it as they can like the the three Hobbit films.
She did try writing a crime novel under an alias, but when someone outed that it was here; the book sold gang busters.
She might as well work on a project she loves
How the Fraggle Rock does expanding the universe you created undermine your artistic integrity? Did it undermine Tolkien’s? Pratchett’s? Anyone else’s?
There are a lot of folks who would argue that ‘things as they are now are perfect, encase them in crystal glass and leave them like that… forever’. To avoid the risk of their creator fucking things up like the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Yes, the Star Wars expanded universe DID give us things greater than the original trilogy, but those were all created by other people.
…To be honest, I expect the rest of the Potterverse will be too, with Rowling as a ‘creative consultant’/gatekeeper.
Thankfully, a lot of the expanded universe for Star Wars is gone.
Cant wait for ‘Knitting with dumbledore’!!!
Hahahaha that made me laugh out loud. Made my day 😀
I think she was probably continually pestered from fans and studio execs alike for more and more. The fact that this is primarily a film (and whatever other tie-in media), and heavily emphasizes words like ‘franchise’ sounds like Warner Bros are going to have most of the say in this, with Rowling in a producer/’story consult’ role.
JK Rowling Is Making More Harry Potter, Because Money.
There, I fixed the title.
I dunno… what would she do with more money at this point? Surely you reach a point eventually where it all becomes entirely meaningless and you just do whatever you want to do?
Well, successful people say that ‘success is a habit’. I’m guessing money is the addiction that goes with that habit.
Edit: Expanding on that thought: I think accumulating money gives the rich the same kind of dopamine hit that you might get from a facebook like or twitter retweet/favourite. It becomes less about being a tool for survival and more a means of ‘keeping score’.
Whilst I agree that she doesn’t *need* more money, want is something else entirely. Who knows what she wants?! maybe she wants to bathe in money with a trained monkey butler serving Martinis, on the back of a yacht, in space….
… I know I do.
Maybe it’s not about the money maybe she has a story she wants to tell?
Yeah, because continuing to do what brought you fame and accolades and brought joy to people is impossible.
JK Rowling Is Milking More Harry Potter, Because Of Money.
I fixed it some more.
I just read my fixed title and it sounds kinda dirty.
lol – I thought that too
Anyone Else Hoping for Quidditch World cup sort of movie / Book? I was always fascinated with Quidditch, but it was skimmed over in the movies 🙁 One that follows the trials and tribulations of some of the famous Players? You know like documentary style movie like all the baseball / Football Ones.. (Any Given Sunday etc). ??
That would actually be fantastic. I was always upset that they skipped the World Cup match, which was a fantastic part of the book.
i keep reading the title as “Fantastic Breasts and where to find them”!!! /o\
I dunno that would be a great movie or book, but a pretty neat blog or web-portal. They’re going trans-media with this, right?
(5…)
Could be okay. I’m picturing a Nigel Thornberry like character treaking through African wilderness, but with dragons instead of lions and the like.
Warner Brothers must by rubbing their hands with glee so much that there is a permanent fire truck on standby
You all should be thanking you lucky stars that LOTRs wasnt made in this day and age other wise you just might have to sit though 6 or even 9 movies.
Didn’t they take the short Hobbit book and split it into 3 movies?
It’s not a prequel, but it’s 70 years before Harry Potter.. Makes sense.
It’s not a prequel because it’s an unrelated story. Is every single movie in existence either a prequel or sequel to all other movies based on chronological setting?
This desperately needs to be David Attenborough’s acting debut. Just him, doiing the documentaries he already does, just on dragons and thestrals and skrewts.