David Heyman Gives Update on “Harry Potter” TV Show While David Yates Comments on “Fantastic Beasts”

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We last heard about the planned Harry Potter TV show back in April when it was announced, and it’s been radio silence since then. But in the September 2023 issue of Total Film, David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter films, speaks about the current status of the Max show, revealing that not much has changed in the last few months and writing has not yet begun:

It’s early days. We haven’t even hired a writer to begin writing. It’s a bit early. But hopefully [it will be] something that’s very special, and gives us an opportunity to see the books, and to enjoy a series which explores the books more deeply.

This isn’t surprising given the current Hollywood writers’ strike, which began just three weeks after the series was announced.

However, it is interesting to note that it seems Heyman is now officially on board. Last we heard, he was just “in talks” to be an executive producer.

This comes just after David Yates, director of the last four Potter films and all three Fantastic Beasts movies, spoke earlier this week about his involvement in the franchise and implied that Fantastic Beasts is in fact completed. While promoting his new film, Pain Hustlers, at the Toronto International Film Festival, he was asked by Deadline whether he might return to directing for the Wizarding World. Yates responded with the cliché “Never say never.”

I started on ‘Potter’ in 2005, so it’s been an amazing journey. We made the last one, ‘Secrets of Dumbledore,’ through the pandemic, pre-vaccine, so we were shooting that movie without vaccines. It took its toll; it was a tough old ride to get it all together. [I have] huge affection [for the] lovely group of people that I worked with, and I love all of them, but we haven’t had a conversation since we finished it. It’s been about ‘Let’s just park it, and let’s be done for a while.’

Never say never, I would say, but I’m very excited about moving on; I’ve loved making ‘Pain Hustlers.’ I have other projects on my desk which are a million miles away from wizards and involve all sorts of things which are non-wizard associated…. Never say never, but for a while I’ve been exploring many other things.

 

 

This certainly sounds like, as many fans have been suspecting, we aren’t getting a fourth or fifth film as previously promised. Warner Bros., of course, has not made any official announcements. However, it’s nice to see David Yates keeping the door open for potentially directing for the TV show or other future Wizarding World projects.

Catherine Lai

I have been a fan of Harry since 2000, a fan of MuggleNet since 2005, and a MuggleNet team member since 2013. I believe in the power of stories to bring people together, and nothing does that quite like Harry Potter. I live in Toronto, Canada.