Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been an intriguing experiment. The stage play opened in London last year and is headed to Broadway. Fan reaction has been decidedly mixed but that hasn’t stopped people from believing in a potential film adaptation. Rumors circulated early on and were denounced by Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling herself. However, some new information has surfaced that might bring some validity to earlier rumblings.
Theme park historian Jim Hill has stated that Warner Bros. wants to eventually bring back the three main characters – Harry, Hermione, and Ron – for a proposed trilogy of films starting around 2026. Hill says that Warner Bros. envisions this trilogy as “Harry Potter: The Force Awakens.” Essentially, it would be a soft reboot that would include the original characters while passing the torch to a younger generation. Specifically, Albus Potter, his best friend Scorpius Malfoy, and Rose Granger-Weasley would take the reins as the new protagonists.
Why Would They Make A Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Movie?
Though Rowling has debunked this statement on Twitter, this is the kind of news everyone has to rebuke until official deals are made. Hill is well-respected and connected, so what he’s hearing about Warner Bros. approaching the original cast is probably based in fact. Could it be that the studio is less than enthused with the response to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Are they beginning to look at where the franchise might need to go if Fantastic Beasts and its sequels don’t quite have the staying power of the original series?
On the other hand, it’s possible that Warner Bros. is planning later films that won’t actually be based on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The play is considered canon but that doesn’t mean a new series of movies won’t buck tradition and go with a brand new story. There’s no way that Warner Bros. will sit on a franchise as huge as Harry Potter and not do something with the property. It’s just a question of whether they’ll use existing material like Cursed Child or go a brand new route.
Regardless, we’ll certainly be on the lookout for any news. You can bet that a lot of this will become clearer once we get closer to Fantastic Beasts 2, which is scheduled to release next year. In the meantime, check out all we know about the upcoming sequel.
