Last year, writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards released a behind-the-scenes book about the Marvel Cinematic Universe titled MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. The book revealed tons of previously unknown details about Marvel's movie-making machine, and readers responded. It gained a ton of traction out of the gate, becoming an instant New York Times Bestseller and making waves in the entertainment news sphere. As of this writing, it's probably the most definitive account of Marvel Studios' rise to dominance in the movie landscape.
This book is incredible. @jowrotethis @Da7e and Gavin Edwards document the complete story of Marvel Studios, a history that has for too long been clouded in rumor and mystique.
— Erik Voss (@eavoss) October 23, 2023
This is now the go-to source for all things MCU. Read / listen! pic.twitter.com/Lt4C2JW84Y
But Robinson, Gonzales and Edwards aren't resting on their laurels. They have another book in the works, and this one will focus on an equally complicated franchise: Harry Potter. This new book was announced first in Publisher's Marketplace, which is an industry platform where publishers can report their deals when they sign on authors to release books. Robinson took to Twitter/X to spread the news far and wide.
"It's a book sequel!" she wrote. "We are VERY excited and anxious and asking you to trust us that we will work very hard to do the Potter phenomenon, a subject that matters a lot to a lot of different people for very different reasons, justice. We care a lot about it and all of you."
I think this means we can talk about it!
— Da7e Gonzales (@Da7e) April 26, 2024
Joanna @mrgavinedwards and I are going to be THRILLED to share our new work with you in a few years. https://t.co/SYzjRZAeVG
"I am so thrilled to be working with [Joanna Robinson] and [Dave Gonzales] again!" added Gavin Edwards. "It's early days on this project, but I am confident that we're going to do this book right."
Potter: The Battle for the Wizarding World is probably going to be an insanely illuminating book
As I mentioned above, Gonzales, Robinson and Edwards' book on the MCU is not only an entertaining read, but one which exposes all sorts of interesting stories, from how Marvel Studios got its start, to internal struggles over credits, to the fact that the original Iron Man movie was filmed without a script and so much more. Dozens of people associated with Marvel spoke to them for the book, and that access — combined with the authors' decades of journalism experience — made for an exceptional book.
I can't think of a better topic for their next one than Harry Potter. As Robinson said in her announcement, the wizarding world means a lot to so many people...but it's also been embroiled in controversy for years, thanks in large part to author J.K. Rowling's insistence on using her platform to spout transphobic views. With a new Harry Potter series in development at Max that Rowling will reportedly be very involved in, there's been a new wave of discourse about how this beloved children's series can live on in spite of its creator's rhetoric. It's a profoundly thorny topic, but if there's anyone who can navigate it with the care and attention to detail that it warrants, I'd wager it's Robinson, Gonzales and Edwards.
Potter: The Battle for Control of the Wizarding World has no release date as of right now. According to Gonzales we'll be reading it "in a few years." Who knows, maybe by then the Max show will be on the way and we'll have a whole new wave of Harry Potter mania to sift through our complicated feelings about.
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