Rumors are spreading like wildfire online that a Harry Potter TV series is happening.

A Harry Potter TV series is not happening.

Look, I get why people think this could be a thing. These days, studios are all about reboots and cash-cow franchises. And Warner Bros. is desperately clinging to the Harry Potter cash cow with their fingertips. (Despite the controversies surrounding J.K. Rowling and Johnny Depp, the studio will move forward with more Fantastic Beasts films.)

And I get why some people might still want a Harry Potter series. I mean, how long have fans plotted out their ideal Harry Potter TV show? A few decades, at least. They want a prequel series about Voldemort’s first rise to power. They want the movies with the original trio redone, so everything they loved from the books is included. They want a freakin’ Marauders story.

(Or, well. They wanted those things. Past tense. As a former die-hard Potterhead, I can say the relationship many fans have to Harry Potter nowadays is complicated.)

But either way, the fact of the matter is HBO Max is NOT currently developing a Harry Potter series.

“There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” HBO Max told THR.

Could this be a denial-until-we-want-to-confirm-it thing? I guess. But frankly, the rights to who could actually develop a Harry Potter series are muddled anyways. Yes, WB can continue creating the Fantastic Beasts flicks. But NBC actually controls the distribution rights to the original 8 films until 2025. And of course, Rowling herself has to sign off on any new projects.

So, what do you think? Would you sell your soul to JKR and HBO Max for a Harry Potter series? Or would you rather place this magical world on a shelf and only revisit the media we already have? Let us know in the comments.

For more updates, check back to THS.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter