J.K. Rowling To Co-Produce ‘Harry Potter’ Prequel Play On London’s West End
Harry Potter may have hung up his Firebolt, but his creator J.K. Rowling is not entirely done with the boy wizard. In September, Warner Bros and the author announced they were putting a new film series in the works starting with Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, an original story based on the Hogwarts textbook that appears on a reading list in the first Potter tome. Now, Rowling is taking Harry to the London stage. She will collaborate with a writer on, but not pen herself, a new play about the early years of The Boy Who Lived. Rowling will also be a co-producer on the project with Sonia Friedman (The Book Of Mormon) and Colin Callender, the former HBO Films president who’s busy in the UK with a Dangerous Liaisons adaptation percolating at the BBC as well as a miniseries based on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. The Daily Mail‘s Baz Bamigboye got the jump on the story late this week, and since then, a posting to Rowling’s Facebook page says the as-yet untitled play will unveil what it was like to be the boy in the cupboard under the stairs at No. 4 Privet Drive. It will explore the previously untold story of Harry’s childhood as an orphan and outcast and will also feature some favorite characters from the Harry Potter books.
Related: Warner Bros, J.K. Rowling Team For New ‘Harry Potter’-Inspired Film Series
Rowling said, “Over the years I have received countless approaches about turning Harry Potter into a theatrical production, but Sonia and Colin’s vision was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry’s story to the stage.” It’s unclear if Warner Bros Theatrical Ventures will be involved in developing the show, although Rowling’s Facebook post thanked Warner Bros for its “continuing support in this project.” Warner’s theatrical division recently produced Sam Mendes‘ West End musical Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Writers and directors for the Harry Potter prequel play are being considered with development to start in 2014.
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