Harry Potter Lives On and On and On and On!

I can’t believe that it’s been over 9 years since Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows was published, ending the ten year journey of the boy wizard and his good friends Ron and Hermione. And that it’s been over 5 years since part two of the movie version was released, ending their cinematic journey. Though there are certain to be decades of movie marathons and reading binges, it was long believed that we got all we were going to get out of the Harry Potter universe.

Far from it! In the past decade, Harry Potter’s popularity has remained, and perhaps increased with a new generation discovering the books and movies. And more recently, we have new Harry Potter material in almost every form of media.

Earlier this year, the second Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in Los Angeles. The Florida Hogsmeade part had done so well, they opened a Diagon Alley park in 2014. You can travel between the two parks via the Hogwart’s Express! Not sure it the Los Angeles park will see a similar extension (I’m not sure if there’s room). But I have many friends have found a home at Hogsmeade thanks to season passes.

Meanwhile, across the pond, Harry Potter has found a home on the stage. If you hadn’t heard, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two part play running in London’s West End that tells what happens to Harry, his friends and his family almost 20 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter is an employee at the Minstry of Magic, and he and his son, Albus, have to deal with some dark elements from their past.

No, J.K. Rowling didn’t write they play, Jack Thorne did. But they worked together on the story. By now, you’ve probably read the rehearsal versions twenty times (rumor has it they will release the produced versions as well, though I wonder how much would have been changed). So I’m not telling you anything new. And according to Rowling, this is it. No more Harry Potter. But of course, she’s said nothing of his kids and other elements of that world.

As a matter of fact, there are three new (short) ebook collection of short stories “from Hogarts” that were released in the US this month (a few weeks earlier in the UK). Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies; Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists; and Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide. Whew. So yeah, Rowling may be done with Harry, but I don’t think she’s done with Hogwarts.

But wait, there’s more…

One of those companion books Rowling wrote for the original series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, is not only being turned into a movie, but a trilogy! This time, Rowling is writing the screenplay adaptation herself. The first hits theaters on November 18, with another following every two years.

So it looks like we’ll have plenty of Harry Potter materials to hold us over until they reboot the movies… I know blasphemy. Better yet, they’ll probably aim for a television series. Something the likes of Game of Thrones, with each book comprising a season. Don’t worry, Rowling tweeted long ago that a TV series would be after the never-gonna-happen opera and ice show. But hey, in her magical world, we’ve come to expect the unexpected.