By Jonas Reichel on November 7, 2024 at 11:15 am

News for all Harry Potter fans: on the one hand, the new series adaptation of the books awaits us in 2026. On the other, the successful game "Hogwarts Legacy" will get a second part. Variety has now revealed that the two projects will be connected.

David Haddad, head of Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, says that the development team behind the second part of "Hogwarts Legacy" is working closely with the creators of the "Harry Potter" series. The aim is to coordinate certain story elements to create a unified and interconnected wizarding world.

Although the first part of the game takes place long before the events of the "Harry Potter" saga, the second part could pick up on events that are of long-term significance for Hogwarts. For example, ghosts or other magical creatures in the series could make repeated references to certain events from "Hogwarts Legacy 2". However, it remains unclear what exactly this connection will end up looking like.

The series reboot is being written by "Succession" author Francesca Gardiner. The director is Mark Mylod, who directed several episodes of "Game of Thrones" and "The Last of Us". The current plan is to produce one season of each of the books. The goal is to cover more details of the original books that only played a minor role in the previous movies or did not even feature at all. The release date has been set for 2026. The casting process is currently ongoing - so it shouldn't take very long for us to be presented with the new actors of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

A Brief Overview of the Harry Potter Phenomenon

The Harry Potter series, written by British author J.K. Rowling, has become a global phenomenon since its publication. The story, which began in 1997 with the first book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", follows the orphan boy Harry Potter, who learns at the age of eleven that he is a wizard. He is accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he makes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and fights against dark forces, in particular the evil wizard Lord Voldemort.

The seven books that tell the story of Harry Potter's battle against Voldemort have been translated into 79 languages and have sold over 500 million copies worldwide. The book series consists of the following titles:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

In addition to the literary reach of the books, the stories became globally known through an extremely successful film series. The films, released between 2001 and 2011, adapted the books for the big screen and gave the Harry Potter brand a further boost in popularity. The eight movies ("Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2") grossed over USD 7.7 billion at the global box office and contributed significantly to the enduring popularity of the series. Many of the young actors such as Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) became stars overnight.

Successes Beyond the Film Series

The Harry Potter franchise quickly expanded beyond books and films. There are now theater productions, including the successful play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", which is considered a continuation of the book series and focuses on Harry's life as an adult and father. The stage production, which premiered in 2016, became a worldwide hit and won numerous awards, including the Tony Award for Best Play.

Another significant part of the magical world is the expansion in the form of the "Fantastic Beasts" movies, which were released from 2016. Set decades before the events of Harry Potter, these films focus on the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander as well as the threat posed by the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. This series of movies has managed to appeal to new and old fans of the Harry Potter world alike, although it has not achieved quite the same success as the original films.

The Harry Potter phenomenon also extends into pop culture, business and leisure. Amusement parks such as "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Universal Studios offer fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in a recreated version of Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. There are also countless fan articles, merchandise and an enduring fan community that organizes book clubs, online forums and conventions.

The influence of the Harry Potter series on the literary world is particularly noteworthy. The books contributed to a huge increase in interest in fantasy literature, especially among young readers. Many children and young people who were inspired to read Harry Potter have remained fans as adults.