The Hunt for the Next "Harry Potter"

July 15^th, 2011 marked the end of the "Harry Potter" series provided JK Rowling decides not to stretch out her cash cow franchise any further to include prequels, an animated series, or other things used to beat a classic franchise to death.

Now book publishers and movie studios are left scratching their heads thinking, "What's the next franchise that will capture the hearts and wallets of customers that we can make a lot of money on?" And movie studios have already attempted to create the next "Harry Potter" film franchise based of novels that came during, after, or before JK Rowling and novels that never really felt like "Harry Potter" but the studios decided to market them as such.

It seems like an easy formula to create your own "Harry Potter" franchise. Establish an imaginative world filled with magic and/or secrets that the normal world knows nothing about. Then introduce someone (preferably a teenager for marketing purposes) who gets thrown into the imaginative world. He/she (usually a he) is an average person in the normal world and his/her insecurities provide enough material for readers/viewers to familiarize themselves with the character. Now the main character is a fish out of water in this new world and needs people familiar with the world to introduce him to the new concepts such as magic, aliens, or anything else that officially does not exist in the normal world. Friends and rivals are quickly made as the main character introduces himself; establishing ties that will last throughout the franchise. Now throw in an evil presence who threatens the imaginative world that only the main character can defeat through skill, friendship, and a little luck. Lather, rinse, and repeat while throwing in bigger stakes throughout the franchise for box office and book sales gold.

It sounds so easy to do on paper.

But the devil is in the details in bringing this hero's fish out of water journey into fruition. You need the writing talent to develop characters who aren't cookie cutters from other hero journeys and imagination to create your own world away from the real world. You need publishers who believe your book will actually sell despite the growing number of imaginative worlds available (classic and new) in a possibly dying medium. You need movie studios with talent to bring your world into a visual medium. And you need a marketing team able to sell your world as something original and not just another "Harry Potter" clone.

And the biggest trouble after accomplishing those feats is that the cynical audience is most likely going to associate the work as a "Harry Potter" clone. One panel during a sci-fi convention I attended discussed how these franchises that catch fire rarely aimed to be the next anything. "Harry Potter" never intended to be the next "Harry Potter." It simply was a quality book series that became the literary equivalent of crack cocaine. So the best way to become the next successful franchise is to be something original.

So here's my idea for a new franchise. Instead of a magical world, use the vastness of space for the imaginative world. Keep the average Joe but instead of a regular teenager, make him a farm boy. Instead of wizardry, make the protagonist a throwback to the old chivalrous times and make him a knight armed with a special laser sword instead of a magical wand to keep up with the space sci-fi theme. And the evil force will be something invasive and sound invasive like... Vader.

Hang on, let me write this down.