JK will be Rowling in TV money
TV BOSSES are set to conjure up nearly £1.5billion to bring Harry Potter to the small screen – which would make it the most expensive series ever made.
JK Rowling, 55, whose Potter novels have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, maintains tight control over the young wizard’s name and portrayal and will reportedly bank an “eight-figure sum” for the TV series, to add to her £795million net worth.
The cost of up to eight seasons, one for each of the Potter books, would eclipse the current record holder Game Of Thrones, whose eight series spanning 73 episodes cost HBO about £1.1billion.
Executives at the network’s streaming spin-off HBO Max, which is backed by movie giant Warner Bros, have refused to publicly confirm their Potter plans.
But details were leaked last week by respected trade magazines Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. A studio source revealed: “A preliminary budget is being worked out. It’s already obvious it will overtake Game Of Thrones without a single actor having been cast.”
The Potter TV project comes 10 years after the last movie hit cinemas. All eight movies cost a “mere” £880million to make – earning £5.6billion at the box office worldwide. Profits have been further boosted by two out of five planned films released in the Fantastic Beasts spin-off series. Variety said that “conversations have taken place with multiple writers” with Rowling most likely a coproducer as she was on the movies.