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The search for the next Harry Potter

Hollywood execs are falling over themselves to find a Potter-esque franchise to fill the Harry-shaped hole that is fast approaching the film industry

With ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ currently breaking records all over the world (biggest four-day opening weekend in the UK, largest global IMAX gross, largest opening weekend for a film with ‘Phoenix’ in the title, etc) Warner Bros are now scrambling to find a similarly family friendly replacement franchise as the series nears its climax.

The ‘Septimus Heap’ books look to be the most likely candidate at the moment, with the company recently acquiring the rights to Angie Sage’s fantasy novels and fast-tracking them into production.

Fans of the Potter series will be familiar with the premise, as the series revolves around a young boy whose destiny is to become an all-powerful wizard. So far three books have been published in the seven book series – ‘Magyk’, ‘Flyte’ and ‘Physik’ – and between them they have sold more than one million copies in the US alone.

Warners aren’t the only studio hoping that the Potter magic will rub off on their own projects however – this week Relativity Media have bought the rights to the yet-to-be-published ‘Tunnels’, about a 14-year-old boy who searches for his father down a tunnel only to uncover a secret world of, you guessed it, wizards.

That acquisition comes hot on the heels of Twentieth Century Fox signing up Shawn Levy to direct the first instalment of ‘The Seems’ series, about a young boy sent on a magical mission to a parallel universe that manufactures everything that mankind takes for granted.

And Chris Columbus, director of the first two Potter flicks, is hoping that lightning will strike twice by acquiring the rights to ‘Lightning Thief’, the first instalment in the ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ fantasy series about a young boy who travels to a magical land to bring a truce between mystical deities.

So it seems that magic will be in the air as Hollywood endeavours to conjure up something approaching the success of JK Rowling’s series, though we are assured that rumours of an impending ‘Barry Hotter’ franchise have been grossly exaggerated.

Author: Chris Tilly

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User comments on this story

Mike Flowers said...

I agree with Don's comments. Have young people forgot the art of writing proper English? Posted on Jul 26 2007 16:31

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Don said...

I saw the latest Harry Potter film, but the lack of education that the your critics show makes me wonder whether I shouldn't be ashamed to admit it! Posted on Jul 25 2007 14:00

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nikita said...

i wathced the 1st harry potter and the 2nd and 3rd and 4th iam going watching harry potter the 5th soon i injoy watching harry potter Posted on Jul 25 2007 12:02

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jb said...

hi,
i am mr jb i have seen what you advertise and Posted on Jul 25 2007 10:09

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mareen said...

ive watched all the harry potter movie4s and there borin Posted on Jul 24 2007 19:03

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hannah-p said...

i think that harry potter will be a good scary film that'll blow my head off i no its come out but i haven't seen it but will be doing soon though in this film Daniel Radcliffe hairstyle is geekish !!! Posted on Jul 21 2007 14:03

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Again. said...

Some Books Are Not Related To The Harry Potters. Examples Ones About Strait MAGICK. Because They Are More Likely To Be Aimed At Pagans Or Wiccans Like Me.
Bye x Posted on Jul 21 2007 09:25

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*Cara x said...

I love the Harry Potter Films, But I Havent Got The Patients To Read The Books. Books Like Barry Hotter And Things, Attract me more. People Do Read These, But They Are Not Attracted To Buy Them.. Unlike The Originals. If They Were Ever Turned Into Movies, I Can Guarentee I Would Not Watch Them Over The Real Harry Potters. I Wouldnt Worrry About Rip-Off Books, No-one Acually Pays Attention To Them,
Bye x Posted on Jul 21 2007 09:23

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leila t said...

todays cinema likes fantasy and harry potter has been fortunate to be so popular when there has been many other books and movies of a similar genre. as a young person, i belive that audiences need a place to escape to, and hogwarts has been that place. although harry potter can be revisited by watching and reading the books and the films, the distribution of the final film will present the end of an era. fresh harry potter will be surely missed and a substitute for those high profit block-busters will be hard to find. however, film makers should be careful. the thought of more stories about unexpected individuals finding that they have incredible destinies, can be daunting. to be repeatitive could have the opposite effect than originally desired. you know what our good friend Will wrote in some quite popular play, ...something about honey and how it is sweet, but too much is sickly. whatever happened to new ideas and originality? as much as i adore harry potter, i do not think that same idea but with a different twist, should be created or evolved. to indulge in something so similar, in my eyes, is betrayal. moo to you too :P x Posted on Jul 19 2007 20:29

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fozia said...

ermmmmmmmmmmmm i've always loved watching harry potter movies but i hate reading the books i dont kno why but thats just me,im lukin forward to watchin the order of the pheonix n probly the deathly of hollows as well n i think its worth a while!:) Posted on Jul 18 2007 17:30

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