"Harry Potter" fans across the world will have the chance after all to experience the new London West End play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" that was co-written by J.K. Rowling. Scholastic announced Wednesday morning that the script for the play will be released as a book due out July 31, 2016.
"As the U.S. print publisher, Scholastic introduced Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World to American readers nearly 20 years ago and experienced firsthand the anticipation and excitement of the publication of each of the books over the years," Ellie Berger, President of Trade Publishing, said in a statement. "We are thrilled to publish Harry Potter and the Cursed Child this summer."
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is a two-part play that was written by Rowling and playwright Jack Thorne. It has been marketed as "the eighth story" in the "Harry Potter" series and will take place 19 years after the events of the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," according to Pottermore.
The official synopsis for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" reads: "It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places."
The book version will include the Special Rehearsed Edition of the script, which is how the play stands during the productions early previews, according to Entertainment Weekly.
