Legendary Pays $3M for Harry Potter Fanfiction Film Rights

Legendary Pictures has reportedly spent over $3 million to secure the film adaptation rights for SenLinYu's forthcoming dark fantasy novel, Alchemised.

According to THR, this landmark agreement was struck early by Legendary in a strategic move to outpace potential competitors. Industry insiders suggest the deal could rank among the highest-ever acquisitions for book-to-film rights, without adjusting for inflation.

You might ask, 'What makes Alchemised so compelling to Legendary before its official release?' While the book will unveil a new magical universe upon its September 23, 2025 publication, its origins are deeply connected to the Harry Potter universe.

Although there's no official tie between the two, THR's sources reveal Alchemised originated as Dramione fanfiction – stories exploring a hidden romance between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Author SenLinYu, known as Sen, subsequently reimagined the narrative to focus on the original world of Paladia and its protagonist, Helena Marino.

"In this captivating dark fantasy debut," states the official Alchemised website, "a woman grappling with memory loss battles to survive a war-ravaged realm of necromancy and alchemy, while confronting a man determined to unravel her mysterious past."

The project's credibility is bolstered by the Portland-based author's established presence in fantasy literature. What began as stories composed during their child's naptime using the Notes app has grown into a body of work widely published and shared online.

Notable among these is Manacled, a Harry Potter fanfiction that maintains a 4.63-star rating from nearly 140,000 reader reviews on Goodreads. Sen's author profile notes their writings have accumulated over 20 million downloads and been translated into 23 languages.

"I'm profoundly honored by Legendary's extraordinary commitment to this project and eagerly anticipate seeing Paladia materialize on screen," Sen remarked in a statement to THR.

SenLinYu Alchemised

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While a cinematic adaptation of Alchemised remains years away, the novel itself arrives in bookstores shortly. Meanwhile, discover how Kit Harington, Keira Knightley, Simon Pegg, and other stars recently contributed voice performances to the new Harry Potter audiobook edition.