Creative team discuss evolving the ‘language of magic’ for HBO’s Harry Potter series
L-R: Mark Mylod, Francesca Gardiner and Casey Bloys discuss HBO’s Harry Potter series
Warner Bros Discovery’s Harry Potter series is set to begin shooting at UK studio Leavesden in mid-summer next year, with the creative team starting to make casting decisions next month as it sifts through more than 32,000 auditions for children’s roles.
Director Mark Mylod and showrunner Francesca Gardiner, both of whom serve as executive producers, appeared at an event held by HBO streamer Max in London yesterday to unpack how they are approaching remaking one of the biggest book series and movie franchises in history.
Mylod, who has worked with HBO on high-profile titles including Succession, said the task of taking the IP into a series format (one season per book) is both a “privilege and incredibly daunting.”
Season one will run for eight episodes, he confirmed, with the director noting that the “luxury of longform storytelling” will allow the team to “dig into the real depths and crevices” of the IP and juxtapose it with the movies and books, particularly the contrast between the world of magic and the non-magical Muggle world.
Mylod said the team was interrogating how those two worlds “interact, how they separate, how the language of magic can evolve, to a literal manifestation, how some of it emanates and what emanates from a wand through any given spell.”
Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials) described herself as an “crazy mega fan” of the original books, acknowledging the films would be a “hard act to follow,” but said the creative team plans to use the “bigger sandbox” to reveal things about the IP that weren’t explored in the movies.
Gardiner added that the casting team is watching between 500 and 1,000 auditions per day as it goes hrough 32,000 submitted for the children’s roles. It is preparing to begin making casting decisions next month, although no final choices have been made at this stage.
One way it will differ from the movies is that the series will use the “canonical ages” of the characters, meaning it will cast younger actors than the films. This, she said, will help them find the next great generation of talent.
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, has been in London this week, spending time with Mylod, Gardiner and other writers on the show to map out casting, production design and how other creative elements of the project will look.
The Harry Potter series, first announced by Warner Bros Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav in February, is among the biggest content bets to be placed since the media company was formed in early 2022 through the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. Bloys declined to discuss the potential budget when asked by C21.
Mylod added that the series, which will theoretically air for seven seasons, in line with the books, will be “an evolution in terms of the visual approach to everything.” One of the “leg-ups,” he added, is that some of the movies were being released while the books were still being published, the creative team behind the series has the benefit of being able to take a longer view to the storytelling.
“It’s not to undo what was done so brilliantly, and particularly [British production designer] Stuart Craig’s iconic designs and the sets and that beautiful sense of iconic silhouettes. We think we want to evolve and expand that with the benefit of all seven books,” said Mylod.
