Harry Potter could be rebooted for the small screen

Warner Bros. originally adapted the Harry Potter books into a series of eight films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint between 2001 and 2011. But according to Bloomberg, turning each book into a whole season of TV will “allow the writers to delve further” into the original stories. 

But since the release of the original movies, the franchise’s reputation has been caught up in its author JK Rowling’s increasingly controversial comments about the trans community. Vox has a thorough timeline of Rowling’s comments over the years, which include calling the trans rights movement “a powerful, insidious, misogynistic movement, that has gained huge purchase in very influential areas of society” in a recent podcast. Franchise stars including Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint have publicly emphasized their own support of the trans community following Rowling’s comments.

Bloomberg notes that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said he wants to invest in a smaller number of bigger movies and TV shows. The company’s other heavyweight franchises include the DC superhero universe which is currently being effectively reset by James Gunn, and multiple Lord of the Rings movies it’s working on with New Line Cinema.

Bloomberg’s report doesn’t offer any details on who might be in line to direct or star in the new TV series.