I thought it was mentioned earlier in this thread Dreamworks was off limits to use in the UK, kinda like the current Marvel Universal contract prevents most of Marvel being used at WDW. But like the contract, maybe they are some loopholes Universal can take advantage of to bring something DW to UGB.
Ah I was sure I read it was still on the table somewhere, but I may well have misread that or something!
There are various reasons why I feel Universal might not want open a can of worms with another HP land.If Universal can get the rights for a Wizarding World land in the UK I think they'd be mad not to build it, with rides unique to this version of a Universal park. As much as I love Lord of the Rings it does not have the demographic reach that Harry Potter does. JK Rowling's books will continue to be introduced to new generations, the movies continue to be popular and there's the massive TV series which is due to debut in 2026 or 2027 and will delve even more deeply in to the Potterverse than the movies could. It is, of course, a distinctly British IP, exported across the world with astonishing success. We took our two nieces to Orlando when they were young teens and then late-teens and they loved the Wizarding World land(s) more than anything else. No way that are similarly invested in Lord of the Rings, they definitely haven't read the books and I'm not sure they've seen any of the movies. I'd guess they are typical of kids their age, and I don't think the Middle-Earth TV series on Amazon is going to gain much traction with that age range.
I'm pretty sure that a Wizarding World land would be the No.1 draw in any UK theme park. The HP Studio Tour just down the road gets 2 million visitors a year just by itself, that's almost one quarter of the targeted attendance that Universal has said they would like. Perhaps for that reason Universal won't get the rights, so any speculation about whether Universal should include Potter could well be pointless
What would be the problems in that can of worms? The only downside I can see is the cost of the IP rights, which I'm sure are wildly expensive as Potter isn't a British IP, currently its the British IP.
I assume they mean JK but tbh that doesn’t float with me. The parks are still busy, Hogwarts Legacy was the biggest selling game of 2023.
She is a very controversial figure who at this point has lost some support.
I find that hard to believe when some of the cast has spoken out against her.
I suppose the question we should all be trying to answer is 'if the rumour is true, why are Universal hesitant to do Potter at UGB?'. This discussion hasn't spiraled out of someone's gut feeling, it's come out as rumour from trusted sources.
How much support has she lost in reality?
I’ve no issue with LOTR being the big fantasy area but I don’t think it’s has the same family appeal or brand impact as HP does.
I think that’s been massively over-played in the media, certainly here in the UK. The vast majority won’t care about her views, or the apparent difference of opinion with Radcliffe & Watson. If pushed to take an opinion, I’d guess the majority would have views closer to Rowling’s. But really most people don’t care at all about Rowling’s position on this, certainly not to the level of boycotting anything.
I would agree that JKRs views wouldn't be a factor in this. It hasn't stopped the land being made in Epic.
It’s a film series that’s over 20 years old and the current series has failed to gain any praise from viewers or critics alike.
I think we need to move on from this discussion, if possible, thank you.
Probably for the best.
I'm not sure how else to tell you this, but that doesn't change a thing about the viability of HP at UGB. Not even a little bit.
