It's been years since we've seen a proper entry in the Harry Potter franchise on the page, the stage, or the screen. Fans haven't been left entirely in the cold, as they have a relatively new roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort, and the third entry in the Fantastic Beasts film series is currently filming. If, however, you long for the days of the original Harry Potter franchise, then a brand new traveling exhibition focused on the franchise may be exactly what you're looking for. Harry Potter: The Exhibition is set to begin traveling the world next year.
Imagine Exhibitions, who has previously produced traveling shows based around everything from Angry Birds to King Tut to Downton Abby have announced a deal with Warner Bros. Consumer Products that will bring the Wizarding World to various locations throughout the world. The exhibition promises a collection of props and costumes from the eight film series as well as "awe-inspiring, and magical environments and installations" for the viewers to interact with. While the focus of the exhibition certainly appears to be the films, based on the fact that this deal is with a division of WB and not J.K. Rowling directly, references are made to the books themselves and even the Tony Award-winning play, so elements of those could find their way into the show as well.
For fans of the Wizarding World, this show sounds pretty cool, and the only question becomes when anybody will actually get to see it. The show is set to launch in 2022, but no time frame beyond that has been given. The first location for the new touring exhibition is set to be announced in the "coming months" but right now we don't even know where the show will start, nevermind where it will go from there. Depending on where you live the show could still be years away from coming to a location near you.
The show will include elements from both the main Harry Potter movies as well as the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Items from the first two films will be on display. Perhaps, down the road we could see elements from the upcoming film added if the show is still touring.
On the plus side, the show looks to be quite scalable. It will be able to fit into venues as small as 10,000 square feet or as large as double that. That means the show should be able to visit a wide variety of locations, though that likely also means that in smaller locations not all the exhibits on hand will be able to be on display.
If nothing else, the announcement of a traveling public exhibition for next year is a strong indication that such things will be feasible by next year. Certainly seeing something like this any sooner would be unlikely under the circumstances.
