WarnerMedia CEO Teases A Reboot Of The Harry Potter Franchise

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has dropped a rather obvious hint that the Harry Potter franchise will be continuing with new installments.

What Happened: According to Hollywood Reporter coverage, Kilar raised the possibility of a new round of Hogwarts-inspired adventure during a session of the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecommunications Conference.

“There's this little thing called Harry Potter, which is one of the most beloved franchises,” he said. “And we're incredibly thankful to be able to partner with J.K. Rowling and so I would argue there's a lot of fun and potential there as well.”

What Could Happen: The versions of Rowling's seven-book series grossed more than $7 billion worldwide, but the last addition to the franchise was the 2011 “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

A stage show written by Jack Thorne, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” opened in London’s West End in 2016 and on Broadway in 2018, but was not adapted to the screen. That production takes place 19 years after the events of “Deathly Hallows” with Harry Potter as an adult and his younger son Albus preparing to attend Hogwarts.

In January, the Hollywood Reporter quoted anonymous sources claiming WarnerMedia and Rowling were in discussions for a potential Harry Potter live-action TV series for the HBO Max streaming service. The unnamed sources stated “broad ideas have been discussed as part of the early-stage exploratory meetings.”

HBO Max and WarnerMedia, which are both subsidiaries of AT&T T, responded to the Hollywood Reporter coverage with a statement that said, "There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform."

(A scene from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the last entry to date in the popular film franchise. Photo courtesy WarnerMedia.)