“Harry Potter” series aiming for 2026 premiere on Max after J.K. Rowling meeting

In an earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery executives said they are aiming for a 2026 premiere, with "The Hedge Knight" due in 2025.

There is indeed more Hogwarts on the horizon. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced in an earnings call on Friday morning that the company is moving forward with the Harry Potter series they announced last year, following a recent meeting with author J.K. Rowling to discuss the project.

“We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter," Zaslav said on the call. "The last film was made more than a dozen years ago. I was in London a few weeks ago with [HBO and Max boss] Casey [Bloys] and [WBD TV executive] Channing [Dungrey] and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise."

Zaslav went on to confirm the expected launch date for the new Harry Potter: "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. We're aiming for a debut in 2026."

Although Zaslav said "new stories," reports last year indicated that the series will be a new adaptation of Rowling's seven Harry Potter books, rather than an original story set in the Wizarding World universe. And though he correctly noted that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released in 2011, there have since been three Fantastic Beasts prequel movies overseen by Rowling and set in the same world — each of which experienced diminishing returns at the box office.

Rowling, meanwhile, has become a controversial figure because of her remarks about transgender people. This has drawn opposition not just from Harry Potter fans, but from the cast of the original movies (though not all of them). Rowling did not participate in the 2021 Max reunion special Return to Hogwarts.

Harry Potter isn't the only big fantasy franchise in WBD's arsenal. The Game of Thrones universe rolls on with House of the Dragon season 2 later this year, and Friday's earnings call confirmed that The Hedge Knight spinoff series is moving forward as well. That show, based on George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, is now looking at a 2025 premiere date.

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