J.K. Rowling Working on a ‘Harry Potter’ Prequel Following a Young, Orphan Harry
The boy who lived continues to live on. Two years after the last 'Harry Potter' movie hit theaters (and six years after 'Deathly Hallows' was published), author J.K. Rowling is working on a Potter prequel that would follow a young Harry as an orphan, before his time at Hogwarts.
Before you get too excited, Rowling is developing the still untitled story as a London stage play, but we have to think with Warner Bros.' desire to keep the 'Potter' franchise going (see: the upcoming spinoff 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'), that eventually this story will be adapted for the big screen.
Rowling said in a statement:
Over the years I have received countless approaches about turning Harry Potter into a theatrical production, but [this version] was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry's story to the stage.
While Rowling will help develop the story, she won't actually be writing the script, instead collaborating with a yet unnamed writer. (Side note: can you imagine the pressure of being the first outside writer to collaborate with J.K. Rowling on writing a 'Harry Potter' story?)
Because the story will take place before Harry learns he is a wizard, you should also probably expect little-to-no magic. The more dramatic story will likely focus on Harry living with the Dursley's and could also deal with his notoriety at begin the only survivor of the Killing Curse.
No release date or theater location has been announced yet for the show but development will begin early next year in London.