‘Harry Potter’ Max Series Targeting 2026 Release
During Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q4 earnings call, CEO David Zaslav confirmed that the upcoming live-action Harry Potter series is targeting a 2026 release date on Max.
The plan is to adapt all seven books in a ten-year-spanning series with a whole new cast and creative team behind it. The company is currently in search for a showrunner, which they’ve narrowed down to three choices, according to a Deadline report from a few weeks ago; one of them is Succession‘s Francesca Gardiner. Michael Lesslie is also thought to be part of the shortlist. The studio may not settle on just one choice, as they might also be interested in additional series.
Zaslav also confirmed that JK Rowling is heavily involved with the show (via The Hollywood Reporter):
“We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter. The last film was made more than a dozen years ago.
“I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys] and Channing [WBD TV chief Channing Dungey] and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”
A 2026 release, and therefore a 2025 shoot, seems pretty ambitious considering they don’t even have a pitch for the tone of the show yet — all writers being considered are thought to be bringing different approaches, and even though there’s so much source material to draw from, they still need to write a full season of TV. The plus side is that the IP is so recognizable they don’t need fully finished scripts for the auditions.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
