UPDATED: BREAKING: Is Warner Bros. Opening Permanent “Potter” Exhibit in NYC?
UPDATE (September 26):
A Warner Bros. spokesperson reached out to us this morning to provide the following comment:
Warner Bros. Entertainment has leased 935 Broadway, in New York’s Flatiron District. The company will be releasing further details of its plans for a retail experience at a later date.
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Could a Harry Potter-themed exhibit in the fashion of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter be on its way to the Big Apple?
According to Crain’s New York Business, it would seem to be a done deal. The business and economic publication released a report Monday that says Warner Bros. Entertainment has leased a large space at 935 Broadway in New York City’s Flatiron District that it intends to convert into an exhibit through which fans could “experience the enchanted world of the blockbuster film and book series.”
The space, which is located adjacent to the Flatiron Building in Manhattan and was formerly the home of Restoration Hardware, is approximately 35,000 square feet and would feature at least three levels of a Studio Tour London-esque exhibit Crain’s says would be called “The Making of Harry Potter.”
That space allows visitors to walk through re[-]creations of many of the films’ most iconic locations, including the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest and the locomotive platform where young wizards and witches departed for the [sic] Hogwarts School, where Potter learned his sorcery.
If true, this is obviously huge news for Potter fans. While Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood highlights the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises, it’s only in the form of costumes and props from the movies and not the sort of immersive experience found in London.
As yet, however, Crain’s announcement remains unconfirmed by Warner Bros. The publication says a spokeswoman for the studio did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal, and the brokers who represented the building’s landlord, Shefa Land Corp., and Warner Bros. Entertainment also stated that they could not confirm or comment on the deal, which was reportedly completed in July.
We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this as it develops and will let you know as soon as any sort of confirmation is made!