The internet is a weird place for fans of Deborah Harkness. If you spend five minutes on a search engine looking for A Discovery of Witches movie, you’ll find yourself drowning in a sea of "fan-made" trailers, concept posters featuring celebrities who were never cast, and clickbait articles from 2011 that still haven't been deleted. It’s confusing. Honestly, it’s frustrating for anyone who just wants to see Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont on a screen larger than a tablet.
But here is the reality. There is no movie. There probably won't be one for a long time.
Warner Bros. actually bought the film rights to the All Souls trilogy way back in 2011, shortly after the first book hit the shelves. They even hired David Auburn—the guy who wrote Proof—to pen a screenplay. It looked like it was going to be the next big supernatural franchise to fill the vacuum left by Twilight. Then, nothing. The project sat in "development hell" for years, which is basically the Hollywood equivalent of being trapped in a dark corner of the Bodleian Library without a lamp.
Why the big screen failed the All Souls Trilogy
Hollywood often struggles with books that are "too smart" for a standard two-hour runtime. If you've read the books, you know they aren't just about a witch and a vampire falling in love. It's about alchemy. It's about DNA sequencing. It's about the intricate politics of the Congregation and 1,500 years of European history.
Compressing all that into a 120-minute A Discovery of Witches movie would have been a disaster. You'd lose the slow-burn tension. You'd lose the academic vibes that make the series unique. When a studio looks at a 600-page book filled with dense historical references, they get nervous. They start cutting things. Usually, they cut the soul of the story to make room for more CGI explosions.
Fortunately, the rights eventually reverted or were negotiated away, leading to the 2018 television adaptation. Bad Wolf and Sky Productions realized what Warner Bros. didn't: this story needs room to breathe.
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The TV series vs. the cinematic dream
Most people asking for an A Discovery of Witches movie are actually just looking for a high-production-value way to experience the story. The television series, starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, basically functions as three very long movies.
Matthew Goode's portrayal of Matthew de Clermont is often cited by fans as the reason a movie isn't necessary anymore. He captures that specific blend of "ancient predator" and "sad ethnomusicologist" perfectly.
Is the show perfect? No.
Some fans argue that the pacing of Season 2—the Shadow of Night arc—was way too fast. They squeezed an entire Elizabethan era adventure into a handful of episodes. This is usually where the "we need a movie" argument resurfaces. People think a massive film budget could have handled the 1590s better. Maybe. But you'd still be missing the quiet moments, like Diana learning to spin light or Matthew’s complicated relationship with his father, Philippe.
The current state of the franchise in 2026
We are now several years past the series finale of the TV show. The "movie" chatter has shifted. Now, the conversation is mostly about spin-offs or a complete reboot a decade down the line.
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Deborah Harkness hasn't stopped writing, though. With the release of The Black Bird Oracle, the All Souls universe is expanding. Whenever new source material drops, the rumors of a big-screen adaptation start up again. But let's look at the industry trends. Streaming is where "prestige" fantasy lives now. Look at House of the Dragon or The Sandman. They have movie-level budgets but the format of a novel.
If a producer approached Harkness today about an A Discovery of Witches movie, she’d likely be skeptical. She has been very vocal about wanting the "essence" of her characters preserved.
What happened to the Warner Bros. script?
It's likely gathering dust in a digital vault. Scripts that go unproduced are rarely seen by the public unless they leak onto Reddit or specialized forums. The David Auburn draft is a "lost" piece of media. It’s a fascinating "what if." Imagine a version of this story where the focus was strictly on the romance to keep the plot moving fast. It probably would have felt shallow.
The move from film to television was a win for the fans, even if they still dream of seeing the Sept-Tours castle on an IMAX screen.
Common misconceptions about the movie rights
There is a lot of bad info out there. Let's clear some of it up.
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- Is Netflix making a movie? No. Netflix licensed the TV series in several regions, which caused a spike in "A Discovery of Witches movie" searches, but they aren't producing a feature film.
- Did the movie get cancelled because of the show? Not exactly. The movie was already stagnant by the time Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner (Bad Wolf) stepped in to suggest a series.
- Will there be a cinematic sequel? Unlikely. Any future content will almost certainly follow the established TV cast or be a total reboot years from now.
The reality of the film industry is that "mid-budget" fantasy movies are dying. Everything is either a $200 million blockbuster or a streaming series. A story about an Oxford scholar discovering a magical manuscript fits perfectly into the latter. It’s "Dark Academia," and that aesthetic thrives on television.
Actionable steps for fans of the series
If you are still holding out hope for a film, or if you just finished the show and want more, here is how to navigate the current landscape of the All Souls world.
Stop watching "Concept Trailers" on YouTube.
These are often titled "A Discovery of Witches Movie (2025) Teaser" and use clips from Matthew Goode's other movies or random shots of castles. They are fake. They just want your ad revenue.
Dive into the "All Souls" companion books.
If you feel the TV show missed the depth of a potential movie, read The World of All Souls. It’s a dense guide that fills in the gaps that even a ten-hour movie couldn't cover.
Support the "Black Bird Oracle" cycle.
The best way to get more high-budget adaptations—whether a movie or a new series—is to show that the audience is still there. The new books focusing on Diana's higher magic are the most "cinematic" things Harkness has written yet.
Watch the "Special Features" on the Blu-rays.
If you want the "movie feel," the physical media releases of the show contain behind-the-scenes looks at the production design. The level of detail in the sets—like the recreation of the Bodleian—is actually higher than what you see in many Hollywood films.
The dream of an A Discovery of Witches movie isn't dead because the story failed; it’s "dead" because the story found a better home. In an era where movies are getting shorter and attention spans are supposedly shrinking, we should probably be glad we got twenty-five hours of television instead of ninety minutes of a rushed theatrical cut. Keep your eyes on Deborah Harkness's official channels for news on future adaptations, as she is the only reliable source for where Diana and Matthew might appear next.