• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, July 15, 2025

The gods of Hollywood continue to create new universes with expansions into television for two worldwide movie icons -- Harry Potter and James Bond.

Harry Potter, the boy wizard created by J.K. Rowling, already conquered the world in eight movies produced from 2001 to 2011.

Now he is poised to make his mark on television with a new series announced Monday for HBO and HBO Max.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, now 35, was 11 when he started playing Harry Potter in 2001, and continued through the eighth movie when he was 20.

The new Harry is newcomer Dominic McLaughlin (photo above). The web is vague on the topic of the boy’s age, estimating it between 9 and 11 years-old.

But whatever his age, he has no doubt found his own golden ticket to worldwide superstardom. If he is 9 now, he will be 11 by the time the TV series, titled “Harry Potter,” premieres in 2027.

That is apparently how long it will take for the series to complete production, which is now underway at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, U.K., the company said on Monday.

Other cast members revealed by WBD include Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, and Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander.

Warner has long held the movie rights for the Harry Potter film franchise and has reportedly profited handsomely from the property. 

The eight movies are said to have cost $1.2 billion to produce, and made $9.5 billion. J.K. Rowlings’ seven Harry Potter novels are said to have grossed $7.7 billion. 

Meanwhile, Amazon’s deal last February to buy control over the James Bond movie brand has raised speculation that Amazon will expand the franchise into TV.

The deal was worth a reported $1 billion paid to Barbara Broccoli, 65, and her brother, Michael C. Wilson, 83, both descended from the late Albert Broccoli, the producer who controlled the James Bond movies for decades.

Having paid so much money, Amazon will inevitably seek to exploit the brand with TV series based not only on the Bond character, but possibly stand-alone movies and TV shows centered on Bond villains and other characters. None of this has been announced, however.

In 59 years, there have been 26 James Bond movies starting with “Dr. No” in 1962. In today’s Hollywood jargon, that does not constitute a “universe.”

The “universe” concept has come to define a handful of entertainment brands popular around the world as movies, TV shows (both live-action and animated), video games and merchandise.

The best known of these are the comic-book universes of Marvel and DC, and the universe of “Star Wars” -- which is probably the biggest entertainment universe of them all.

Photo credit: Aidan Monaghan/HBO