Rowling announces new Harry Potter book (yes, really).

[The Romulan Republic]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/art ... otter-book

When die-hard “Harry Potter” fans first heard that J.K. Rowling was writing a sequel to her beloved seven-part series, they couldn’t wait to get their hands on the book. Then they realized the sequel wasn’t going to be released in book form — she had turned it into a play.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is set to debut in London at the Palace Theatre on Harry’s birthday, July 30.

But today, Rowling announced that the script of the play will in fact be released as a two-part book, at 12:01 a.m. on July 31, 2016.


“Pottermore is proud to be a key part of the multi-platform effort that will allow the epic eighth Harry Potter story to be read and enjoyed by a wider, global audience,” said Susan L. Jurevics, CEO of J.K. Rowling’s online home base Pottermore in an announcement on the site.

The play was not written by Rowling herself. English playwright Jack Thorne wrote the script based on “an original new story” Rowling wrote with Thorne and theater director John Tiffany but never released as a book. It is set 19 years after the end of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the series’ final book.

[A black actress is cast as Hermione in new Harry Potter play, the Internet is over the moon]

Harry is “an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.”

In the epilogue to “Deathly Hallows,” readers learned that Harry had married Ginny Weasley and together they had two sons, Albus and James and a daughter, Lily.

In “Harry Pottter and the Cursed Child,” Albus struggles “with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted,” the announcement said. “As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.”

The play and book won’t be the only Potter-related releases this year. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a movie based on one of Rowling’s short “Harry Potter” companion books, hits theaters Nov. 18.

Trailer: 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'
Play Video1:50
The beloved "Harry Potter" universe is resurrected in "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them," written by J. K. Rowling and starring Eddie Redmayne. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Though the final “Potter” movie was released in 2011, the franchise has far from vanished from public conversation. Rowling has written four non-Potter books — three under a pseudonym — and kept up a steady conversation with her fans across the globe on her Twitter page and Pottermore website. She regularly releases previously unknown information about the wizarding world, from major revelations such as Albus Dumbledore’s sexual orientation to minor tidbits such as the history of the wizard prison Azkaban.

These addendums are the cause of much debate among fans. Some see them as Rowling’s aim to please her ginormous worldwide fanbase; other say it’s an attempt to squeeze more money out of a franchise that has already collected billions.

The debate is sure to continue, possibly even after “Cursed Child.” Pottermore CEO Jurevics said today’s announcement won’t be the only development that makes 2016 exciting for Potter fans.


“We have other innovative content initiatives coming soon that will also thrill and engage our vast global audience of Wizarding World fans as well as create new ones.”

Correction: This post previously misnamed Harry’s children. Severus is the middle name of Albus, and Harry’s other son is named James.

I'm rather surprised, but intrigued.

[The Romulan Republic]

To be clear, since I now realize I wasn't (though its in the article), this isn't exactly a new novel, but the script in book form, whatever that means. Still nice, still unexpected.

It'll be nice for fans to be able to sit down and read the story, even in a script format, without having to fly to England to see the play. Although I'd have preferred an actual novelization as well.

[Crazedwraith]

I was all huffing and puffing and wondering who stole all her money. But yeah, script of the play is fine. And let's people who can't make the play read it.

On the other hand, two books one for each part? The blatant cash grab of that still rankles.

[The Romulan Republic]

I was all huffing and puffing and wondering who stole all her money. But yeah, script of the play is fine. And let's people who can't make the play read it.

On the other hand, two books one for each part? The blatant cash grab of that still rankles.

Yeah, it does.

I don't really see Rowling being motivated by money, though. She can't possibly need more, and she gives too much to charity for me to see her as simply the type to keep grabbing every dollar she can no matter how much she has.

Probably her publisher pushing that.

[RogueIce]

Make a ninth movie WB, you know you want to.

I would totally watch it.

[The Romulan Republic]

Oh, I'm sure that unless the play utterly flops, it'll be adapted to film in short order.

Its Harry Potter. Guaranteed money.

[Crazedwraith]

Make a ninth movie WB, you know you want to.

I would totally watch it.

They're making 9,10,11 if you count the Newt movies.

[The Romulan Republic]

So... 12 at least seems likely. 13 if they split the nigh-inevitable film of the play in two like the play itself.

They're going to be almost challenging the Marvel films for number of films at this point.

Still got a long way to go to catch up to Bond though.

[Crazedwraith]

It'd be sort of interesting if they waited long enough to make a Cursed Child for DanRad et al, to be in the right age bracket to reprise the roles.

[Crown]

Make a ninth movie WB, you know you want to.

I would totally watch it.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that's Rowling's call. She holds the access to all that stuff, because I do not believe for one single moment if she was penning this 'for the stage' and WB owned the access to do it on film (without Rowling's blessing) they wouldn't have done/announced it already.

[The Romulan Republic]

It'd be sort of interesting if they waited long enough to make a Cursed Child for DanRad et al, to be in the right age bracket to reprise the roles.

Its my understanding that Radcliffe, at least, isn't terribly interested in reprising the role of Harry.

[Elheru Aran]

It'd be sort of interesting if they waited long enough to make a Cursed Child for DanRad et al, to be in the right age bracket to reprise the roles.

Its my understanding that Radcliffe, at least, isn't terribly interested in reprising the role of Harry.

He's concerned about being typecast for the rest of his life. Fairly understandable. One reason he started taking a few more... shall we say, interesting, roles pretty quickly. 'Equus', 'Horns' and so forth. I could see him agreeing to a cameo, but perhaps not a full appearance.

[Purple]

To be perfectly honest this whole thing leaves me relatively uninterested. I am probably the only one who thinks this way but I preferred the first HP books that were more child oriented and had a certain "adventure of the year" style to them that always had a happy ending. Once they started getting darker and more serious I pretty much lost all interest.

[Marko Dash]

i still say they should have made the HP movies as cartoons, would have solved a ton of book vs movie canon issues, but it has been nice to see the actors age with the characters.

[Gandalf]

What book/film canon issues require animation to solve?

[Marko Dash]

if they broke it up into more smaller episodes they wouldn't have had to squeeze parts out, plus they could have had free reign as to what characters and locations look like.

most of it they nailed, but differences crop up as mentioned here.

[madd0ct0r]

To be perfectly honest this whole thing leaves me relatively uninterested. I am probably the only one who thinks this way but I preferred the first HP books that were more child oriented and had a certain "adventure of the year" style to them that always had a happy ending. Once they started getting darker and more serious I pretty much lost all interest.

Each book is an 'adventure of the year' format, but the series as a whole is about growing up and realising how fucked up the world is. Got to admit I too lost interest though. I started school the same year Harry did, but I aged a lot faster then he did (books were relased slower than 1 a year). I'm looking forward to revisiting them as a father and seeing what else is hidden in there.

[The Romulan Republic]

Ultimately, I'd say more than anything, the whole series turns around the idea of self-sacrifice. Primarily Lily's for Harry, Snape's for Lily, Harry's for everyone else, and Voldemort's inability to put anyone above himself.

[Purple]

To be perfectly honest this whole thing leaves me relatively uninterested. I am probably the only one who thinks this way but I preferred the first HP books that were more child oriented and had a certain "adventure of the year" style to them that always had a happy ending. Once they started getting darker and more serious I pretty much lost all interest.

Each book is an 'adventure of the year' format, but the series as a whole is about growing up and realising how fucked up the world is. Got to admit I too lost interest though. I started school the same year Harry did, but I aged a lot faster then he did (books were relased slower than 1 a year). I'm looking forward to revisiting them as a father and seeing what else is hidden in there.

And that's basically where it lost me. I am just so tired of the grimdark thing.