An animated film and TV series for Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr. is coming

In strange, not-at-all-litigious news today, 1986 cult classic film Troll is set to be reprised as an animated film and television series titled Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr. John Carl Buechler, who penned and directed the original film, has agreed to co-produce the full-length 3D animated feature along with Peter Davy.

Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette has been signed for the voice of the witch, and up-and-coming child actor Baxter Bartlett is slated to be the voice of young Harry Potter, Jr. Plans are underway to round out the remainder of the characters. Cast members in the original 1986 live-action feature included Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story) as Harry Potter, Jr., along with Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, June Lockhart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The film is being represented and distributed internationally by London-based SC Films International, a sales, distribution, production and finance company. SC Films International confirmed they are also in final negotiations with 3D animation studios in Canada and China to provide production services for the project.

The new animated feature will revisit the world of the wizardry originally created in the 1986 Troll movie, in which a wicked, magical troll wizard envisages taking over the world. Only Harry Potter, Jr., with the help of a magical witch, can save the planet from the clutches of the troll wizard and his evil force.

John Carl Buechler stated: “The original ‘Troll’ film has achieved cult status, and based upon its success we believed that the timing was right to produce an updated 3D animated version for a whole new generation of filmgoers.”

Co-Producer Peter Davy added: “We are already in pre-production. We have the financing in place and a strong international distributor. We are envisioning a series of animated sequels along with an animated TV series.”

The film is slated for release in early 2017. An animated TV series is also expected to go into production for release next year, and discussions are ongoing with the Harbin ‘Window to Eurasia’ Theme Park in Northern China for a “Troll”-themed venue and branding program based on the film’s characters.

Simon Crowe, CEO of SC Films International, commented, “We are hugely excited by this project. We see a 3D animated ‘Troll’ as having tremendous commercial value and huge appeal for family audiences worldwide.”

The press release included the following statement:

The reprise of “TROLL: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr.” has not been prepared, approved or licensed by any entity that created or produced the J.K Rowling series of Harry Potter books or the Warner Bros. series of Harry Potter motion pictures. TROLL: the Movie LLC is not affiliated with J.K.Rowling or Warner Bros nor has this motion picture been endorsed or authorized by J.K.Rowling or Warner Bros. The characters “Harry Potter” and “Harry Potter, Jr.” depicted in TROLL are not related to, or inspired by, the book and film characters of J.K.Rowling and Warner Bros.

Harry Potter and Harry Potter, Jr. and his family were characters in the 1986 motion picture “TROLL” which was independently created and distributed 11 years before J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was written and published.