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Credit: Universal StudiosWe’ve just had our first update in a while on the upcoming HBO reboot of Harry Potter – and it seems like JK Rowling will continue to play a major role in producing the series.
First announced in April 2023, just over 10 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) hit theaters, the next iteration of the Boy Who Lived appears to be closer than ever. Deadline has reported that multiple writers were called in to pitch their visions for the series to Max in Los Angeles this week.
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Writers vying for the job include Michael Lesslie, who recently adapted The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for the big screen, as well as Martha Hillier, Kathleen Jordan, and Tom Moran.
It also revealed that JK Rowling is still expected to be involved in the decision-making process for the show and serve as executive producer, despite the author’s ongoing controversy.
Over the past six years, Rowling has repeatedly been accused of transphobia due to her stance on the intersection of women’s rights and the transgender community. Some of her more recent controversies include arguing that women are losing faith in the justice system due to being forced to refer to males as women when in court and claiming that she would “happily” go to prison over her beliefs on the “reality and importance of sex.”
In the wake of this controversy, there have been calls to boycott new Harry Potter releases, such as 2023’s Hogwarts Legacy, and several public entities have distanced themselves from the author, including Harry Potter fansites, stars of the franchise such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, and major events such as London MCM Comic Con.
Regardless, news that Rowling is still attached to the upcoming reboot – which is expected to stream on Max – isn’t a total surprise. Aside from having notoriously tight control over uses of Harry Potter IP, other projects endorsed by the author have done well in recent years in spite of the backlash. Hogwarts Legacy was recently announced as the best-selling game of 2023, while her crime series Cormoran Strike – which she writes under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith – continues to sell well and impress critics.
Related: ‘Harry Potter’ Event Canceled, Blamed on JK Rowling Being “Transphobic”
Brontë Film and TV – which is chaired by Rowling’s agent Neil Blair – is expected to co-produce the upcoming Harry Potter series, with Brontë CEO Ruth Kenley-Letts and David Heyman, producer of the original Harry Potter movies, expected to join Rowling as executive producers.
Do you plan on watching the Harry Potter reboot? Let us know in the comments!