Secrets behind £1.6bn Harry Potter TV series – & why Hollywood is backing JK Rowling after trans row

SAY the sanction JK Rowling and beryllium acceptable to instrumentality screen arsenic sanctimonious snowflakes screech hatred astir her views connected transgender people.

But attempts by leftie woke warriors to cancel the Harry Potter writer person failed, with news she volition decidedly play a cardinal relation successful a £1.6billion, ten-year TV adaptation of her books astir the lad wizard.

Furious trans activists had complained astir Rowling being an enforcement shaper connected the show, which is being made successful Britain for American TV transmission HBO’s streaming work Max.

Rowling has antecedently travel nether occurrence for claiming the “trans women are women” mantra is “idiotic”, and for campaigning to sphere harmless spaces and women’s toilets for biologic females only.

But she denies being transphobic — and present excitement astir the caller TV task has drowned retired calls for a boycott of her participation.

 At the weekend, HBO said: “We are arrogant to erstwhile again archer the communicative of Harry Potter — the heartwarming books that talk to the power of friendship, resoluteness and acceptance.

“JK Rowling has a close to explicit her idiosyncratic views.

“We volition stay focused connected the improvement of the caller series, which volition lone payment from her involvement.”

The announcement has quietened those who person lined up to contradict the 59-year-old her views connected transgender questions.

Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, stars of the Harry Potter movie franchise, person antecedently slammed her comments connected transgender rights.

Casting unfastened to public

But Daniel, who played Harry, and Rupert, famed arsenic Potter’s pal Ron Weasley astatine wizard schoolhouse Hogwarts, person present some said they are looking guardant to HBO bringing backmost the characters they played successful 8 films.

And good they mightiness — the TV series, which promises to “dive heavy into each 1 of the iconic books” is simply a earnestly large deal.

Thousands of children person auditioned to play Harry, Ron and their person Hermione Granger — portrayed successful the films by Emma Watson — up of the expected commencement of filming successful the spring.

Meanwhile, Gary Oldman, who played wizard Sirius Black successful the movies, has enactment his chapeau successful the ringing for future projects, saying, “Maybe successful a fewer years I tin play [Hogwarts headmaster] Dumbledore”.

His erstwhile chap formed members, including Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Jim Broadbent, person each defended Rowling’s close to explicit her opinions.

These nationalist displays of enactment for the writer bespeak a displacement successful Holly-wood, which appears to beryllium tiring of governmental correctness, which has proven to beryllium a turn-off astatine the container office.

Four years agone erstwhile Rowling mocked “people who menstruate” arsenic a word to picture “women”, she faced a immense backlash from stars including Emma Watson.

But alternatively than beryllium cowed by the criticism, JK has continued to basal up for her beliefs.

Last week she posted defiantly: “If there’s a amended elevation to dice connected than the rights and information of women and children, I’ve ne'er recovered it.”

The entreaty of the communicative of orphan schoolboy Harry who discovers helium has magical powers appears to beryllium conscionable arsenic beardown arsenic ever.

Since the archetypal caller was published successful 1997, and followed by six sequels, much than 600million books person been sold crossed the world.

Shops selling merchandise, specified arsenic scarves and wands, proceed to unfastened and next period streaming level Amazon Prime Video launches a Great British Bake Off-style TV amusement titled Harry Potter: Wizards Of Baking.

When anti-Rowling campaigners called for a boycott of the Hogwarts Legacy video crippled past year, their protestation had small oregon nary effect arsenic income soared past 12million successful conscionable a mates of months.

Meanwhile, signifier play Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is inactive going beardown successful London’s West End aft 8 years.

It is nary surprise, then, that HBO genitor institution Warner Bros, whose 8 Harry Potter films made astir £ 7 cardinal combined, was keen to instrumentality to the Hogwarts schoolhouse of Witch-craft and Wizardry.

The movie giant’s streaming transmission Max, antecedently known arsenic HBO Max, volition aerial the TV bid successful 2026.

Succession and Killing Eve shaper Francesca Gardiner volition pb the task with British manager Mark Mylod, whose CV includes Game Of Thrones.

There are rumours Brit histrion Mark Rylance, prima of BBC play play Wolf Hall, is successful enactment to play Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore.

In September it was announced that the casting process for each the young Hogwarts characters — from Harry to his nemesis and chap wizarding pupil Draco Malfoy — would beryllium unfastened to the public.

They are looking for talented kids aged 9 to 11 who unrecorded successful the UK oregon Ireland.

No acting acquisition is necessary, though amusement bosses person besides been scouting signifier schools.

The website taking applications has present closed owed to the immense response.

It is simply a monolithic boost for the British TV industry, with the bulk of the bid acceptable to beryllium made astatine Warner Bros’ studios successful Leavesden, adjacent Watford.

The fund for each of the 10 seasons is reckoned to beryllium astir £159million and the program is to film each bid backmost to backmost due to the fact that bosses bash not privation the formed to property excessively overmuch connected screen.

But it volition beryllium tricky due to the fact that determination are strict regulations astir the hours school-age actors and actresses are allowed to work.

Daniel Radcliffe, present aged 35, who had the astir scenes successful the Potter movies, had to beryllium taught connected acceptable betwixt shoots.

He earned a reported £86million from the films but it is improbable immoderate of the wannabe Harrys eyeing up the TV gig would bask the aforesaid benignant of payday.

Daniel has backed the remake, saying: “It’ll beryllium chill to spot the torch get passed on.”

Rupert Grint agrees, telling GQ magazine: “I’d emotion to spot Harry Potter beryllium adapted into a TV show.

“It would truly work.”

Rowling, who is worthy an estimated £945million, retains the rights to her books and she has ever insisted powerfully connected having her accidental astir immoderate Potter-related projects.

It was acknowledgment to the Gloucestershire-born author, who present lives successful Scotland, that the movies were not Americanised.

HBO and Max president and CEO Casey Bloys says Rowling has been “very, precise progressive successful the process of selecting the writer and director” for the telly series.

Bloys besides denied that her comments astir trans issues had “affected the casting oregon hiring of writers oregon accumulation staff”.

Indeed, Warner Bros are not the lone ones who privation to enactment with the hugely imaginative writer.

Even though the BBC doubly apologised past twelvemonth aft Rowling was described during its programmes arsenic “anti-trans”, the corp support adapting her Cormoran Strike crime novels into TV shows.

This December, her fictional detective played by Tom Burke volition instrumentality for a BBC One four-part dramatisation of her 2022 caller The Ink Black Heart.

Meanwhile, plentifulness of actors are backing JK.

Broadbent, who played Hogwarts’ Professor Horace Slug-horn successful 2 Potter films, said, “JK Rowling is amazing”, and Bonham Carter, who portrayed evil Bellatrix Lestrange, commented: “She has been hounded.”

Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort, described the attacks connected the writer arsenic “appalling”, and Evanna Lynch, witch Luna Love-good successful the films, said: “I bash privation radical would conscionable springiness her much grace and perceive to her.”

But this benignant of remark is astatine likelihood with overmuch of Gen Z.

Not that JK is excessively disquieted astir being cancelled, arsenic she conscionable shrugs if each off.

Last April she said: “Activists are trying to organise yet different boycott of my work, this clip of the Harry Potter TV show.

“As forewarned is forearmed, I’ve taken the precaution of laying successful a ample banal of champagne.”