During Warner Bros. Discovery’s investor call yesterday (via Deadline), CEO David Zaslav revealed that they’re currently planning to shift their focus on making the most out of the popular franchises, including Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
“We’re going to focus on franchises,” Zaslav said. “We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of profits to Warner Bros motion pictures over the last 25 years. House of the Dragon is a big example of that; Game of Thrones, taking advantage of Sex and the City. Lord of the Rings – we still have the right to do Lord of the Rings movies.”
Zaslav would later note that he’d like to see if they can “do something with J.K. on Harry Potter going forward.” Last year, eports about HBO Max eyeing a possible spin-off series based on J.K. Rowling’s hit Harry Potter books and films surfaced online. However, Warner Bros. immediately responded and shut down the claims, confirming that “there are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform.”
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The Harry Potter seven-book series was adapted into eight films that earned over $7 billion at the worldwide box office. Warner Bros. also has the Fantastic Beasts prequel series of films under its belt, which includes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and The Secrets of Dumbledore. It’s still unclear if the studio is still planning to move forward with its previously announced fourth and fifth installments, given the last one’s mixed reception.