The Harry Potter movies visualized what book readers had long fantasized about in their heads, and with the creative input and blessing of Rowling, they were able to evolve and grow just as the novels did, with four different directors bringing a variety of flavors to the series from film to film without sacrificing character, story, or continuity. But in another minor miracle, the Harry Potter film franchise was able to maintain a level of quality rarely found in film series that stretch on past one or two movies, let alone eight. As with anything that’s popular nowadays, Hollywood came calling rather quickly, and the first Harry Potter film was released a little over a year after Rowling’s fourth book hit the shelves. Rowling set out to tell over 20 years ago and the lush, tangible world she created.īut Harry Potter doesn’t begin and end with the books. This kind of longevity is rare, and it’s all to do with the quality of the story J.K. Harry Potter is ubiquitous in the form of elaborate theme parks, Freeform marathons ( RIP), video games, and of course the highly re-readable novels. It’s been 13 years since the last book was released, nine years since the last movie hit theaters, and yet the IP is as strong as it ever was. The Harry Potter franchise is a global phenomenon like few others.