Summary

  • The Fantastic Beasts series fell short of expectations, leading Warner to focus on a new HBO Harry Potter TV show.
  • A potential Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie is still years away, with challenges in the way of production.
  • While new Harry Potter movies are possible, no new films have been announced yet, with the original cast's return uncertain.

The Wizarding World is going through significant changes following the failures of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, but with such a ionate following of fans, the Harry Potter franchise still has a lot of plans for the future and does not appear to be going anywhere. The story of the Boy Who Lived and his mission to stop the darkest wizard of all, Lord Voldemort, became a cultural phenomenon, making way for a media franchise that started with the Harry Potter saga being adapted into a series of eight movies.

The final chapter in the Harry Potter movie saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, was released in 2011, but the Wizarding World continued to expand with video games, a stage production, and even a theme park. In 2016, audiences were taken back to the magical world with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was followed by two sequels. Unfortunately, the films couldn’t match the success of the Harry Potter movies. However, there is more Harry Potter content to come, including a new HBO series and maybe even the next Harry Potter movie.

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Fantastic Beasts 4 Is Not Likely To Happen

The Prequel Series Fell Short Of Expectations

Among those projects from the Wizarding World with an uncertain future is the new Fantastic Beasts movie. In 2016, Rowling announced that the plan for Fantastic Beasts was to be a series of five new Harry Potter movies, covering the events of Wizarding History that happened between 1926 and 1945, including the First Wizarding War and the duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. However, the new Fantastic Beasts movies failed to connect with the audience for different reasons, and compared to the Harry Potter films, they turned out to be a big failure.

Fantastic Beasts originally followed Newt Scamander, but it changed focus to the conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, giving the trilogy an inconsistent tone and story. The Fantastic Beasts movies were also overshadowed by various controversies with some of its main actors as well as Rowling herself, and when it comes to box office numbers, they fell short (via The Numbers).

It’s not surprising Warner decided to forget about the Fantastic Beasts branch, putting an end to those new Harry Potter movies' plans. Although Fantastic Beasts 4 hasn’t been officially canceled, it isn’t in development either. It appears Fantastic Beasts 4 might not happen at all with the HBO Harry Potter show coming next.

A Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Movie Is A Long Way Off

The Sequel Story Takes Place Decades After The Last Harry Potter Movie

Split image of Daniel Radcliffe as Old Harry potter in Deathly Hallows Part 2 and promotional art of two wizards from The Cursed Child
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While Warner's interest in more Harry Potter content means new Fantastic Beasts movies will be left aside, it also means that other projects that involve the Boy Who Lived could finally happen. Among them is a film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play written by Jack Thorne from a story by Rowling, Thorne, and John Tiffany. Cursed Child continues the Harry Potter book series, set 19 years after the events of Deathly Hallows. It follows Harry’s son, Albus Severus Potter, during his time at Hogwarts.

Albus gets into serious trouble after messing with a Time-Turner, while Harry is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. However, with the news of the Max streaming series rebooting the entire Harry Potter franchise, there isn't much of a chance of Cursed Child getting made — yet. The truth is that Cursed Child has a better chance of happening than Fantastic Beasts 4, but it could cause some confusion given that the HBO Max show is seemingly a ground-up remake.

Based on the comments from the original actors, it's unlikely that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be developed any time soon. Daniel Radcliffe and other of the original cast have all mentioned that it's too early for them to return to the franchise and that they want to focus on their post-Harry Potter careers. Only Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley, has spoken positively about a future movie. And given that the play is set 19 years after the final Harry Potter book and movie, that isn't such a problem.

Waiting years to produce the movie would mean that the time ed in real life could equal the movies, which would make it feel way more authentic. Additionally, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child isn't about Harry Potter or any of the original characters, and their screen time would be fairly limited. In that respect, the original actors returning wouldn't require as much of a commitment from them as what they gave for the original Harry Potter run. Nevertheless, a potential movie adaptation of the play is still years away, if it even happens at all.

A Harry Potter TV Show Will Reboot The Franchise

The Harry Potter Series Is Expected On HBO In 2026

It is now public knowledge that the franchise is returning as a TV show for HBO. This is huge news, as the series will retell the entire Harry Potter world from the very beginning all over again. Each season will be based on each book in the series, meaning that way more of what was missing in the Harry Potter movies will appear in the show. It will have more time to tell the stories, and many of the events and characters left out of the movies can finally come to life in the small-screen series.

There were a lot of things left out of the books that movie fans know nothing about. From the mysterious ghosts to the poltergeist Peeves to personal moments with Harry Potter and his friends, the new HBO Harry Potter show will open up an entirely new world for people who haven't read the books. However, the series will face the difficult task of recasting the main roles, with several of the actors cast becoming synonymous with these characters in the eyes of fans.

The creative team for the show had been assembled with sca Gardiner serving as showrunner and Mark Mylod on board as director.

Following the initial announcement of the series in April 2023, there has been a considerable amount of movement on the project. In June 2024, it was announced that the creative team for the show had been assembled with sca Gardiner serving as showrunner and Mark Mylod on board as director. Gardiner has served as a producer on shows like Killing Eve and Succession, whereas Mylod is an Emmy-winning director behind Succession and Game of Thrones, as well as the acclaimed movie The Menu.

The show was initially planned as a Max series but has since been confirmed to debut on HBO, with a plan for a 2026 release window.

Will Other Harry Potter Movies Happen?

No New Movies Have Been Announced

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) on the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Poster

Although there are no more Harry Potter books after Deathly Hallows, there are some stories that could be adapted into the next Harry Potter movie and thus continue the beloved saga. Among the best options is a movie focused on Harry’s role as an Auror, as he was recruited by Kingsley Shacklebot. An Auror is a wizard who serves as a highly trained law enforcement official for the magical government. With the Wizarding World now free of Voldemort, it would be interesting to see what Harry’s job as an Auror would be like.

Of course, there are other stories set before Harry Potter’s time that would be interesting to explore, but Warner’s attention seems to be on content that includes the famous young wizard. If the entire focus is on Harry Potter and his friends, there won't be another movie while the Max series is airing. This doesn't mean there won't be spin-off movies, but Warner seems more concerned right now with the HBO Harry Potter show.

Will The Original Harry Potter Cast Ever Return?

Daniel Radcliffe Has Addressed The Possibility Of Returning To The Franchise

An aged Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) smiling with their kids at 9 3/4 in Harry Potter: Death Hallows Part 2

Perhaps the biggest obstacle in making new Harry Potter movies is the actors. The main cast of the Harry Potter saga has moved on to other projects and has finally managed to shake off their characters and the labels that came with them. It’s understandable, then, that they aren’t sure about coming back to the Wizarding World so soon.

Daniel Radcliffe has said he would be ready to reprise his role in new Harry Potter movies but isn’t interested in doing so for now, while Tom Felton has jokingly said he would work with Radcliffe again if they switched roles and Felton was now the hero. Radcliffe's exact quote was,

"I mean, I don’t, I think it’s very much like they’re going for a new series and it would be, there would be somebody else playing Harry. So I think it would be very weird for me to show up. I’m very, you know, I’m very excited to see what other people do with that."

That said, Warner did make an interesting statement when announcing the Max show that will reboot the franchise. The company said that some of the actors from the original movies could return for the HBO Harry Potter show, albeit some could play different roles. It could be interesting to see people like Maggie Smith return as Professor McGonagall.

However, what could be even more interesting are people like Tom Felton returning in entirely different roles, possibly taking on the role that Jason Isaacs played in the original and playing the elder Malfoy. It seems anything is possible in the new Harry Potter world.