Warner Bros. confirms the Wizarding World franchise is dead

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav may have just confirmed that the wizarding world is over, so what does WBD have in store for Harry Potter?

Warner Bros. Discovery may have just inadvertently confirmed that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is dead, which raises many questions about what happened to the franchise and what Warner Bros. plans for the series. At the company’s Q3 earnings conference, David Zaslav spoke about the future of Harry Potter and other major WBD franchises and mention that “We haven’t done a ‘Harry Potter’ film in 15 years.“While this quote may seem innocuous, it has some massive implications, including potentially confirming that The Wizarding World franchise is over.

Although the last main line Harry Potter Movie came out in 2011, the franchise has lived through it Fantastic Beasts Spin-off series, with Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore not released until 2022. However, David Zaslav’s wording points out a few important things. First, to say that there weren’t any Harry Potter Film in 15 years implies that the company does not see that Fantastic Beasts films as a success. That’s understandable, since the box office for The Secrets of Dumbledore indicates that the fans don’t show up nearly as often as with the main line Harry Potter movies. Second, Zaslav doesn’t use the Wizarding World branding when referring to the franchise, suggesting WBD might be getting rid of it.

Also Read: Fantastic Beasts 4 Update Confirms Harry Potter Franchise Must Go On

Why the movies The Wizarding World and Fantastic Beasts failed

There are several main reasons why The Wizarding World spin-off films failed. First, they just didn’t get people to come back to continue the series. While Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was a box office hit, it didn’t build enough exciting story threads to keep viewers hooked. While the world of Harry Potter is fascinating, the reason viewers watched the original series was because of its strong characters. Much of the Fantastic Beasts Series is original, meaning the films don’t have the strong backbone of JK Rowling’s books to support their stories. For a series so dependent on the support of its readers, making a completely original film series was an odd choice.

Another important reason for the failure of the Fantastic Beasts movies is that they were just too late. During the release of the original series Harry Potter Movies came out every year or two from 2001 to 2011. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out five years later, which means many casually Harry Potter The fans had already moved on. While Fantastic Beasts Movies tend to make up for their budgets and generally get good reviews, the timing and stories have meant the series just doesn’t resonate with audiences. Additionally, the series has had a lot of bad luck when it comes to cast changes and fans boycotting the franchise.

What’s next for the Harry Potter franchise?

While the series is stagnant at the moment, there are plenty to come Harry Potter Movies and TV shows in development, which means the series is far from over. Fantastic Beasts 4 is still a possibility, although nothing has been officially announced. There have also been rumors of a live action for some time now Harry Potter The HBO Max series is in development. After all, there is always an opportunity to adapt harry potter and the cursed child, something that Zaslav’s comments might suggest should be investigated. With a major video game and planned expansion on the way at Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery may finally be able to rekindle interest in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Next: Does WB want you to forget that Fantastic Beasts even exist?!