Gunnar Wiedenfels reveals the Harry Potter franchise is ‘only just starting to expand’ at a recent panel at Morgan Stanley’s investor conference, with hints at ‘Lord of the Rings’ additions as well.
It wasn’t just a rumor, folks! Much was revealed during Warner Bros. Discovery's recent panel at Morgan Stanley’s investor conference, including hints that the Harry Potter franchise is “only just starting to expand.”
In addition to more Lord of the Rings films, execs are turning to the wonderful magical world created by J.K. Rowling. “Take Harry Potter as an example, the Wizarding World, the fact that we are enjoying this massive success with the Hogwarts Legacy launch, 12 years after the last film came out, shows that there is so much opportunity and we’re only just starting to expand that,” said Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels. “We’ve got the new Harry Potter tour coming up in Tokyo in the middle of the year. Long story short, I think this one-company approach, great leadership in the individual business units, but coordinated franchise management is probably one of the biggest opportunities the company has.”
Wiedenfels adds, “David [Zaslav] made a promise, quote unquote, very early on to revitalize some of that iconic, tentpole IP and we’re starting to make progress,” the CFO said. “It’s exciting to see how people are coming in and out and how the creative community is embracing this opportunity to work with us. That’s going to bear fruit, over time.”
While much of the talk surrounding both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter was vague and evasive, both IPs are on the table with sequels (or even full reboots) in the foreseeable future. Despite the initial backlash against the RPG Hogwarts Legacy, the video game has proven itself a massive success and one of the most profitable games of the year. Perhaps fans truly are ready for more Wizarding World content? We’re crossing our fingers for a Marauders spinoff series.
Cybersecurity specialist by day, investigative journalist by night.
