WHO COULD FOLLOW UP POTTER BETTER THAN MERLIN HIMSELF?

Magical (and I don't mean the subject matter) franchises like Harry Potter, Star Wars etc don't tend to work when they're manufactured as such from the get go. The ones that work tend to come from nowhere and hit a sweet spot with the public - something that's inherent in the original story/characters - something that suits can't cynically replicate.

Think back to the late seventies/early eighties, how many Star Wars cash-ins were there - how many times did the studios try and replicate that success? It took until 2001 with Harry Potter to create a new franchise that would take on the world - It's probable that even Warner Brothers didn't even know how big Potter would become - true they took a calculated risk and knew they'd make their money back and parents were reading it to their kids each night, but even they didn't know it would become the world-wide phenomenon it has.

The Percy Jackson film or the Last Airbender film or the I Am Number 4 film - all have the cynical fingerprints of the suits all over them - as much as they'll do big business at the box office they'll never have the same impact, cultural or financial or fanbase-wise as a true event franchise like Star Wars or Harry Potter franchises.

I want this to fail (not because I don't like the author - not read any of his stuff - I wish him all the best) - but because it's such a cynical cash-in.

Even the author of the books has two abreviated Christian names then a surname - T.A. Barron (J.K. Rowling) - Jesus!