Posted in: Max, Movies, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: elon musk, harry potter, jk rowling, max, opinion

Harry Potter: Even Elon Musk Is Telling J.K. Rowling to Lighten Up

As Warner Bros. Discovery continues work on its Harry Potter series, Elon Musk wonders if J.K. Rowling could post more "positive content."

Ever since Warner Bros. Discovery announced back in April 2023 that they would be teaming up with bestselling author J.K. Rowling on a multi-season adaptation of Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels, we've been looking at the project on different levels. From a series standpoint, there are the usual question marks surrounding the cast, writers, directors, etc. But Rowling being directly in the mix creates a whole other level of concern – and the vast majority of that has to do with her views on trans women and the seemingly endless (and quite often nasty) engagement that she engages in on social media. And that's raised questions about how WBD will handle the questions that it's going to get – as well as the show's cast & creative team – as production officially gets underway. We've already seen Rowling's recent comments regarding original stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint's position on trans women, bringing a response from Radcliffe that doesn't sound like he plans on working with her anytime soon – not a good sign for WBD. In fact, you know WBD is about to have a major issue on its hands when even Twitter/X owner Elon Musk is telling Rowling to lighten up.

Before anyone starts crowing Musk for being bold about anything, he makes it clear in his response to Rowling that "I heartily agree with your points regarding sex/gender." Musk's concern? He wishes she would be "posting interesting and positive content on other matters." Well, it turns out that Rowling did just that – though noting that she didn't do it because she was told to. And it didn't last long, based on what's come out of her account after the recent one that we screencapped below:

In February of this year, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav offered an update on the series during a corporate call. "We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter. The last film was made more than a dozen years ago," Zaslav shared, revealing that the series is expected to hit screens in 2026. From there, Zaslav revealed that he and some other big names from WBD had recently met with Rowling in London to discuss the project. "I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [HBO & Max head Casey Bloys] and Channing [WBD TV head Channing Dungey], and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead," Zaslav shared. "We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max."

The stories from each of Rowling's Harry Potter books will become (from the statement) "a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love, and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of fantastic detail, much-loved characters, and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic, and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

Speaking with Variety earlier this year, Warner Bros. TV Group head Channing Dungey offered an update on where things stood as initial creative planning began. "We're in conversations with a number of different writers to figure out who's going to be the person to lead that franchise for us," Dungey shared while also pushing back on reports that casting is already underway. "The first step for us is figuring out who this showrunner is going to be, and once we get that locked down, then we can start having those [casting] conversations." Dungey added, "The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12."

That same month, reports hit that writers Tom Moran, Kathleen Jordan, Martha Hillier, Michael Lesslie, and others were commissioned by the streaming service to pitch their takes on a series adaptation. Rumblings were that the first round of pitches took place in Los Angeles, with the top picks moving on to pitch in the UK. In addition, it's said that the streamer is "open to the possibility of developing more than one idea based on Harry Potter" and that more than one writer from the pitching process could end up coming aboard the project. That brought us to February, with sources reporting that Francesca Gardiner, Moran & Jordan are the three contenders, with each reportedly having the opportunity to work on their final pitches before a decision is made (reportedly in June).

The stories from each of Rowling's Harry Potter books will become (from the statement) "a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love, and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of fantastic detail, much-loved characters, and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic, and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

The series stems from Max in association with Brontë Film and TV & Warner Bros. Television. Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts are set to executive produce, with David Heyman currently in talks to executive produce.

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