Warner Bros. Discovery had a Marvel/Lucasfilm-style mega showcase event today, where they officially rebranded HBO Max to just Max. And with that announcement came a bunch of news and promos of upcoming shows, but the big shoe to drop was confirmation of something we already knew: the Harry Potter TV series is definitely happening.
A Max series adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels is in the works. And as expected, each season will adapt one of her seven original novels. A brand new cast will be coming aboard, with the series expected to run for about a decade. That’s quite a commitment, especially in light of the troubles faced by the franchise.
Speaking of which, the cause of much of that trouble, Rowling herself, was delighted at the news: “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
In other movie-to-series-related news, animated Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai hits Max on May 23rd, more than a year after its original date. It serves as a prequel to the classic 1984 Gremlins, and follows a young Sam Wing as he goes on adventures through China with a mogwai named Gizmo. Matthew Rhys, Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, B.D. Wong, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang comprise the voice cast. Also Zach Galligan, who starred as Billy in Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch, will make a cameo. He damn well better!
Finally, The Conjuring Universe is coming to Max as a series. Peter Safran is developing a TV series that will “continue the story established in the feature films” James Wan, who created and directed The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, is aboard to produce through his Atomic Monster label. The films, of which there are seven in total with earnings over $2B, star Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as real-life paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren.
