Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

As limey wizard Newt Scamander continues to traipse about America’s magical underground at the cinema with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, another enchanted British import prepares to cross the Atlantic. Just because mega-selling novels have long since ended, the Harry Potter business hasn’t stopped booming, and its latest gold mine is the stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The production has routinely sold out showings at the Palace Theatre in London’s storied West End, and the producers are now gearing up to bring the play stateside in the hopes that their fabulous success will follow them to the Great White Way.

Just last month, Warner Bros. filed for a trademark on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the hit stage play (the script was also released in book form) that serves as the eighth installment in J.K. Rowling’s classic series. While that doesn’t necessarily indicate that WB is plotting a new Harry Potter movie, a new rumor suggests that that’s exactly what it means — and they want Daniel Radcliffe to return for not just one, but three films.

A few weeks ago, Daniel Radcliffe gave a very diplomatic answer when asked if he would ever consider a return to the Harry Potter franchise. And while the actor admitted that he would never close the door to the possibility — for the right script and with the right people involved — it turns out he may not have a franchise to return to. As reported by io9, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling told reporters at the premiere of London stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that her beloved character was done after the events of the play.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set to make its debut on London’s West End this summer, offering a new sequel of sorts in the franchise, but one that will only be performed as a play. However, there’s some good news for all the devoted Harry Potter fans who won’t be able to attend the stage production: the script for the play will be published as a book in July — July 31, to be precise, which just happens to be one Mr. Potter’s birthday.

In the fantastical wizarding world of Harry Potter, those with adequate training can conjure ethereal defenders out of thin air, make objects zoom around in blithe defiance of gravity, and transform into animals (so long as they’ve got the proper license and registration).