Disney Already Has A Huge Harry Potter Rival With Millions of Fans

For over twenty years, the world of Harry Potter has been the gold standard for family-friendly fantasy. The original books were a worldwide hit, selling more than 500 million copies and enchanting a whole generation. The movies were equally successful, earning billions of dollars and becoming a major part of popular culture. Now, HBO is investing heavily in a new live-action Harry Potter TV series that will adapt each of the seven books one season at a time. While author J.K. Rowling has faced controversy, no other franchise has achieved the same level of success as the Wizarding World. But after a long search, Disney thinks it has found a potential rival to challenge its dominance.

Disney has secured the rights to Katherine Rundell’s popular fantasy series, Impossible Creatures, in a deal worth over a million dollars. The studio plans to turn the first two books into movies, and Rundell herself will write the screenplays and produce them through her production company, Impossible Films. This agreement also means Disney has first access to any future books or stories Rundell creates, suggesting they’re hoping to build a large, ongoing film series based on her work.

Impossible Creatures Is Challenging Harry Potter‘s Throne

In Impossible Creatures, readers are transported to the Gilmouria Archipelago, a secret group of islands where every creature from myth and legend still lives. The story centers on Christopher, a boy who finds a way to this magical world and discovers his family has a history of protecting it. He teams up with Mal, a girl who can fly, and together they investigate why the islands’ magic is disappearing, causing the creatures to perish. Their journey is filled with encounters with fantastic beasts like sphinxes, griffins, krakens, and dragons as they try to save the last truly magical place on Earth.

The book series has become incredibly popular since it launched. The first two books have sold over four million copies in 34 countries. Following the release of the second book, The Poisoned King, Rundell became the first British children’s author since J.K. Rowling to reach number one on children’s bestseller lists in both the UK and the US. Critics have also praised the series, with Impossible Creatures winning the Waterstones Book of the Year award and Rundell being named both Author of the Year and Children’s Book of the Year at the 2024 British Book Awards.

What started as a planned three-book series, Impossible Creatures, has grown into a five-book saga due to its incredible popularity. There’s even talk of additional stories! With a large-scale movie deal with Disney in the works, the books are expected to sell even better, securing the franchise’s future. The combination of strong sales, positive reviews, and a constantly expanding universe gives Disney a solid base to create a fantasy franchise that could compete with the most popular names in the genre.

Could Impossible Creatures be the next big thing like Harry Potter? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-10-24 19:41