Warner Bros Discovery chief teases more to come from Harry Potter
Warner Bros. Discovery chiefs Gunnar Wiedenfels teases that the studio is "only just starting to expand" its 'Harry Potter' franchise.
Warner Bros. Discovery is "only just starting to expand" its 'Harry Potter' franchise.
The studio has teased big plans for more projects set in J.K. Rowling's world - which already spans eight main films and three 'Fantastic Beasts' spin-offs - following the success of new video game 'Hogwarts Legacy'.
During a panel at Morgan Stanley’s investor conference this week, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said: "Take ‘Harry Potter’ as an example, the Wizarding World, the fact that we are enjoying this massive success with the ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ launch, 12 years after the last film came out, shows that there is so much opportunity and we’re only just starting to expand that.
“We’ve got the new ‘Harry Potter’ tour coming up in Tokyo in the middle of the year.
"Long story short, I think this one-company approach, great leadership in the individual business units, but coordinated franchise management is probably one of the biggest opportunities the company has.”
He also addressed the recently announced 'Lord of the Rings' films, insisting it was something that would "bear fruit, over time".
He added: "David made a promise, quote unquote, very early on to revitalize some of that iconic, tentpole IP and we’re starting to make progress.
“It’s exciting to see how people are coming in and out and how the creative community is embracing this opportunity to work with us. That’s going to bear fruit, over time.”
And then there is the DC Universe, which he hailed as "an enormous opportunity" with Peter Safran and James Gunn at the helm.
He said: "DC is an enormous opportunity and two important building blocks are in place now with the leadership team, Peter [Safran] and James [Gunn], and James has been breathing comics for as long as he’s been alive, essentially.
“A great creative leader here. And the second building block that is in place is the one-company approach, because I think you can only manage a franchise if everything is coordinated and the team is working together extremely well."
