Featured Image Credit: Avalanche Studios
Topics: Harry Potter, Netflix
For the biggest franchises in the world of entertainment, the sticky issue of rights holders rears its head all too often, which can lead to some pretty disjointed approaches that don't do the overall products any favours.
The Lord of the Rings is a good example, with the rights for video game adaptations currently in the hands of Embracer Group, which they then further extend out to development studios to produce games with the IP.
That led to the, frankly pretty upsetting release of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, while the Amazon Games Studios' MMO was recently cancelled once again after several years in development. This obviously does some damage to the value of the overall product, so avoiding high profile issues is the best way to ensure success.
Coming on to Harry Potter, there are several layers to how that franchise is currently setup. Warner Bros. Discovery are the current rights holders for films and other adaptations, whilst author J.K. Rowling retains the rights to the original books and characters.
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What was quite a simple split was somewhat thrown into chaos by Warner Bros. Discovery being put up for sale, with companies like Netflix and Comcast reportedly interested in lodging bids. The particulars of that sale are up for grabs at the moment, with the company supposedly open to offloading the asset either in whole, or in part.
Netflix are the front runners right now for the streaming rights at the very least, having even taken on investment bank Moelis & Co to help iron out the details. That would ensure their direct involvement in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter series.
That show is a direct adaptation of the original books, but the interesting part comes with the news that the developers of Hogwarts Legacy 2 have been working with the producers of the new show to ensure there is narrative continuity between the two.
Indeed, it seems that the first steps of that have already been instituted, with a leaked set photo showing the transfiguration courtyard designed to replicate the first Hogwarts Legacy.
If Netflix join the proverbial party late, they will have to decide whether to continue in that same direction, a decision that may prove markedly trickier if they have no financial stake in the game.
Indeed, the problem would become even worse if the publishing rights to the next game are sold to someone else. Depending on their existing relationship with Netflix, it could unravel months, or even years, of production at that point.
Now, obviously there are a lot of ifs or buts in there, but it's actually not particularly unlikely that several Harry Potter adaptations could be in production at the same time, under the stewardship of different corporate rivals.
If we've learned anything, it's that a dynamic like that can, and so often does, lead to a poor and disjointed final product. Let's hope that the legal departments can keep things running smoothly, but with so much up in the air, it must be a worrying time for both the HBO series and Hogwarts Legacy 2.