Harry Potter TV Series Eye-Popping Budget Aims to Crush Game of Thrones

And it's fair to say that the budget for Game of Thrones was a huge part of why the showrunners were able to draw so many of us into this fantasy world that was genuinely believable.

While the budget for the newly announced Harry Potter TV series is yet to be announced, Casey Bloys, chairman of HBO (soon to be rebranded as Max) has said they company will pay 'whatever it takes' to make the series work.

He described the Harry Potter series as on the same scale 'or higher' than Game of Thrones – the prequel to which, House of the Dragon, was given a massive $125 million per episode.

In many ways, it seems strange that we're even considering the fact that it won't work. Harry Potter is a hugely successful franchise, and the promise of a TV show that is more authentic to the author's original work than a movie series could ever hope to be seems a shoe-in for mass popularity.

And, in truth, it's the author that is the sticking point here. JK Rowling's views on trans people are pretty much the only thing that has threatened to tarnish the franchise – and she's heavily involved in the upcoming series.

'J.K. is an executive producer, and her insights will be helpful,' Bloys admitted. '[...] We’re comfortable being in the Potter business. J.K. is a very online conversation … it’s very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into. Our priority is what’s onscreen. The Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive about love and acceptance, and that’s our priority, what’s on the screen.'

And while that is bound to bring with it an element of controversy, there's the saying that all publicity is good publicity.

Now, this series doesn't need bad publicity to garner global interest. But the promise of a major budget that will enable the showrunners to reboot the franchise with an almost clean slate will be a major draw for Potterheads all over the world.

It may also just be enough to tempt some who are tending towards supporting a boycott to just give it a go and find out for themselves what the hype is all about. Because, let's face it, there's going to be a lot of hype when the first season hits our screens.

There is still a lot to be revealed about the show, of course. And one of the biggest challenges will be casting. Harry Potter characters – in their movie guises – are part of UK culture. A generation of TV viewers were brought up knowing that Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter. And it's hard to imagine anybody could play Professor Snape better than the late Alan Rickman – or Hagrid more appropriately than Robbie Coltrane.

But would we have said that about Richard Harris' Dumbledore? Possibly. And yet Michael Gambon absolutely nailed the role after replacing the original actor.

As news about the show's development breaks and the release date gets nearer, anticipation and excitement for it will build. And knowing this is a decade-long project with the full financial backing of Max will only ramp up the expectation that this will be a huge success.

Source: Hollywood Reporter.