Happy New Year! There’s much to anticipate in the Wizarding World for 2016, from a new theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. To help prepare for all of the biggest Harry Potter events, here is a look ahead to what is set for 2016.
Now-January 31: Hogwarts in the Snow
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London presents the sets of the Harry Potter films in all of their winter splendor. Read more.
January 28-30: A Celebration of Harry Potter
Universal Orlando Resort hosts the annual event with film talent appearances, demonstrations, and Expo. Read more.
February 5: Harry Potter Book Night
Bloomsbury sponsored the first book night in the UK in 2015, but for 2016, it is going international. Read more.
April 7: Opening of Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios Hollywood
Hogwarts Castle and the village of Hogsmeade come to life in the California park expansion. Read more.
April 16-17: U.S. Quidditch World Cup 9
US Quidditch (USQ) hosts the tournament in Rock Hill, South Carolina. More than 75 teams have qualified to play.
April 16-17: European Quidditch Cup
Gallipoli, Italy welcomes the club championship for European teams and schools.
June 7: Preview shows of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
J.K. Rowling’s new play in two parts opens for preview audiences.
July 30: Opening of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Opening performance of the play at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End.
July 23-24: IQA World Cup
The International Quidditch Association hosts its World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany.
October 19-23: LeakyCon 2016
The Leaky Cauldron affiliated LeakyCon is back. This year it will be at the Mariott Burbank near Los Angeles, California. Read more.
November 18: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
J.K. Rowling’s new film starring Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander is released in theaters. Read more.
Surely the year will also bring new exhibits from Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, exclusive material from Pottermore, and more informative tweets from J.K. Rowling, so keep visiting The Leaky Cauldron for all of the latest Harry Potter news in 2016!
Playwright Jack Thorne has found himself thrust into the Harry Potter universe. Not only is he new to the insider world of of Harry Potter, but Thorne landed one of it’s most important roles, second to J.K. Rowling.
Jack Thorne wrote the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in collaboration with J.K. Rowling and director, John Tiffany. He described his job to the Times as having “to crawl inside J.K. Rowling’s head,” something all serious Potter-heads dream of doing. The article talks of Thorne’s process in creating the story and working with Jo Rowling. If you have a subscription to the Times, the whole article will make a good read. Luckily, MuggleNet was able to access the article and offers a good preview:
When asked if he was ready for his life to change, pretty much a guarantee for any artist involved in bringing a Harry Potter project to the world, Thorne responded that he hasn’t experienced much of that – yet.
Everyone said that [it’s going to make me famous]. Everyone said: ‘Wait for the announcement. It’s going to change everything.’ Then I sent out a tweet on the morning, just going: ‘I can’t talk about it, but I’m so proud to be part of it,’ sort of thing and phoned up Rach [his wife] about an hour and a half later because I was in town, and I couldn’t see my computer, and I was like: ‘How many retweets has it got?’ Sort of: ‘Am I now famous?’ And she went: ‘It’s got six.’ So OK, fame hasn’t visited me yet.
A bit later on, the article reveals how Thorne came to be involved with the project.
The Harry Potter play’s producer, Sonia Friedman, saw Let the Right One In, about a boy befriended by a vampire, which Thorne had adapted for the stage from the hit Swedish movie. She approached its director, John Tiffany, who recommended Thorne. He worked with JK Rowling on the story and wrote the script, now safely encrypted in his computer. All anyone will say is that it is not a prequel. Thorne was fully conversant with the Potter universe having read all the novels and sneaked into the films wearing his Ghostbusters T[-]shirt to show the families he was ‘here for the genre’.
And finally, although Thorne doesn’t divulge any plot elements of Cursed Child, he does reveal a bit about his process of working on the play and what collaborating with J.K. Rowling is really like:
I’ve now had to read every book again and work out what spells do what. The detail that she produced is absolutely sensational. Looking back at The Fades I kind of go: ‘I wish I’d sketched the world even larger, the way that she did with Harry Potter.’ I just didn’t want to challenge the audience too much with too much stuff, so I was: ‘Always keep it simple.’ And actually, Jo doesn’t, and that’s what makes her so special. That’s the great thing about doing adaptations: you just learn so much. My job is to crawl inside her head.
Pottermore retweeted Harry Potter Play’s ticket announcement yesterday. It has bee confirmed that tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will go on sale this fall. Those who have signed up for the Cursed Child email alerts are considered “priority members.” Tickets will be available to “priority members” before being released to the general public. Registration for priority booking is available on the play’s website.
J.K. Rowling has taken to Pottermore to release new content about the Dursleys in celebration of Dudley’s 35th birthday today. This was in line with the reveal of new content in Deathly Hallows chapters on the interactive reading website. Time reports:
‘Rowling gave insight into the backstory of Vernon and Petunia, including the origin of their names, both first and last, and their relationship to Harry’s parents James and Lily.’
Time also includes information on how to get to the new content:
‘In order to access the latest information on Pottermore, fans must first head to the Cupboard Under the Stairs, where the Dursleys kept Harry at number four, Privet Drive. As alohamora won’t work to unlock the new text, fans might want to look at the side table outside the cupboard first.’
Rowling comments on Petunia’s parting words to Harry:
‘Although some readers wanted more from Aunt Petunia during this farewell, I still think that I have her behave in a way that is most consistent with her thoughts and feelings throughout the previous seven books … Nobody ever seemed to expect any better from Uncle Vernon, so they were not disappointed.’
These are very exciting additions to Pottermore, which still continues to expand. If you don’t fancy the hunt, read in more detail about the additions in SnitchSeeker’s article here.
