A new report alleges that Warner Bros. is building a $1.3 billion town as part of its Leavesden studio complex for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
British outlet The Sun claims this town, which will cost £1 billion or $1.32 billion, will include new roads, multi-story garages, hangars for the sets, and even a school for all of the actors as well as a facility to house the various animals that will appear on the show.
However, a Warner Bros. spokesman did not that “no animals are housed overnight for this or any other production.”
A drone photo from the lot appears to show construction for the show’s Privet Drive.
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An anonymous insider told The Sun about the construction plans, “Warner Bros are making a huge commitment to the new TV show, looking at making multiple, lengthy series over the next decade.”
“So they see pumping a huge amount of cash in upfront to construct this infrastructure as a worthwhile investment which they’ll eventually get a return on,” the insider continued. “What they’ll have is a small metropolis which will not only provide the backdrop for the show but all the facilities the huge cast and crew need, too.”
When the series was first announced, Warner Bros. promised it would be authentic to the original novels, “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.”
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally,” it explained.
J.K. Rowling even noted at the time, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
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However, that promise seems to be all words and no action as the show announced it would be race-swapping Severus Snape with actor Paapa Essiedu.
Nevertheless, director David Fincher shared what direction HBO planned to go with the series after he had been contacted by them. He told Variety, “I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do Harry Potter. I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’”
Ge noted that Warner Bros. was not interested in this pitch, but was looking for something more traditional, “They were like, ‘We want Tom Brown’s Schooldays by way of Oliver.”
Tom Brown’s Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes that has been adapted to both film and television. The novel follows Tom Brown in his early childhood in the United Kingdom and his early years in school before he transfers to a Rugby School and has to deal with his nemesis and bully Flashman while also becoming the protector of George Arthur and learning to become a gentleman.
What do you make of this investment into the Harry Potter TV series?
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Why not? I mean HBOMax has already decided to make this an epic fail with it;s casting so what's another billion in that loss? Frankly I want then to do more of this so that they go so far into debt that none of them escape accountability for this idiotic choices/decisions.
Hmmm. A competent hedge fund could easily generate 10% per year. Are they really going to be making $100M+ per year off this investment?