It's a good time to be a Harry Potter fan. While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 was released back in 2011, creator and author J.K. Rowling has been expanding the overall universe in the past year or so. A five movie series around Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will explore the timeline before Harry's schooling at Hogwarts, while the two Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays fill out the group's future. But will the plays be adapted for the silver screen? One recent rumor suggested another trio of films was being planned years from now, so the original actors could reprise their roles at an appropriate age for the characters. And now J.K. Rowling has addressed those rumors.
The Cursed Child trilogy rumors were largely due to historian James Hill's claim that Universal Orlando has already accrued the rights to build theme park attractions around the impending films. This enticed J.K. Rowling herself to take to Twitter in order to respond, saying:
Well that certainly seems cut and dry. The Wizarding World higher ups currently have no plans to adapt Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for the silver screen, even after the Fantastic Beasts franchise finished. I suppose J.K. Rowling and company are focusing on one massive set of films at a time. Good call, J.K.. Additionally, Warner Bros. has maintained that there are no plans for the plays to be made into films, with Rowlings' comments only backing up the original statements from the studio.
While the Harry Potter fandom is eager to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the gang return to theaters, it's probably best that Cursed Child is left alone for the time being. To start, the plays themselves have still only been produced at the West End. While a Broadway transfer seems inevitable, very few fans have been able to actually see the wild time traveling adventure for themselves. And although the plays' scripts are available for purchase, the folks behind Cursed Child will likely want the play to live a long (money making) life before planning a movie adaptation.
Then there's the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies. Harry Potter queen J.K. Rowling is very involved in the new films, and will be weaving in more of the folklore behind the Wizarding World. Dumbledore's past will be explored in the next installment, with hopefully more Hogwarts staples like Professor McGonagall and Hagrid coming into the fray as the films continue on through time.
So while we will have to wait for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to hit theaters, there is plenty of Harry Potter goodness to be enjoyed in the coming years. Thanks, J.K. Rowling.
